Optimized reconfiguration of rlm and beam monitoring parameters

ABSTRACT

A method by a wireless device is provided for optimized reconfiguration of radio link monitoring (RLM) and beam monitoring. The method includes receiving, from a first network node, a first message comprising at least one RLM parameter. A second message indicating activation of the at least one RLM parameter associated with the first message is received. The second message is a lower layer signal compared to the first message.

PRIORITY CLAIMS

This application is a continuation of U.S. Pat. Application 16/970,624filed Aug. 17, 2020, which is a 371 of International Application No.PCT/IB2019/051200, filed Feb. 14, 2019, which claims the benefit of U.S.Provisional Application No. 62/710,466, filed Feb. 16, 2018, thedisclosures of which are fully incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

The purpose of the RLM function in the UE is to monitor the downlinkradio link quality of the serving cell in RRC_CONNECTED state and isbased on the Cell-Specific Reference Signals (CRS), which is alwaysassociated to a given LTE cell and derived from the Physical CellIdentifier (PCI). This, in turn, enables the UE when in RRC_CONNECTEDstate to determine whether it is in-sync or out-of-sync with respect toits serving cell.

The UE’s estimate of the downlink radio link quality is compared without-of-sync (OOS) and in-sync (IS) thresholds, which may be referred toas Qout and Qin, respectively, for the purpose of RLM. These thresholdsare expressed in terms of the Block Error Rate (BLER) of a hypotheticalPhysical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) transmission from the servingcell. Specifically, Qout corresponds to a 10% BLER while Qin correspondsto a 2% BLER. The same threshold levels are applicable with and withoutDRX.

The mapping between the CRS based downlink quality and the hypotheticalPDCCH BLER is up to the UE implementation. However, the performance isverified by conformance tests defined for various environments. Also,the downlink quality is calculated based on the RSRP of CRS over thewhole band since UE does not necessarily know where PDCCH is going to bescheduled, which is illustrated in FIG. 1 , which illustrates that PDCCHcan be scheduled anywhere over the whole downlink transmissionbandwidth.

When no DRX is configured, OOS occurs when the downlink radio linkquality estimated over the last 200 ms period becomes worse than thethreshold Qout. Similarly, without DRX the IS occurs when the downlinkradio link quality estimated over the last 100 ms period becomes betterthan the threshold Qin. Upon detection of out-of-sync, the UE initiatesthe evaluation of in-sync.

The key question in the RLF functionality is how the higher layers usethe internally generated IS/OOS events from RLM to control the UEautonomous actions when it detects that is cannot be reached by thenetwork while in RRC_CONNECTED.

In LTE, the occurrences of OOS and IS events are reported internally bythe UE’s physical layer to its higher layers, which in turn may applyRRC / layer 3 (i.e. higher layer) filtering for the evaluation of RadioLink Failure (RLF). FIG. 2 illustrates higher layer RLM procedures inLTE.

The details UE actions related to RLF are captured in the RRCspecifications (38.331).

For NR, frequency ranges up to 100 GHz are considered. High-frequencyradio communication above 6 GHz suffers from significant path loss andpenetration loss. Therefore massive MIMO schemes for NR are considered.

With massive MIMO, three approaches to beamforming have been discussed:analog, digital, and hybrid (a combination of the two). FIG. 3illustrates an example diagram for hybrid beamforming. Beamforming canbe on transmission beams and/or reception beams, network side or UEside.

The analog beam of a subarray can be steered toward a single directionon each OFDM symbol, and hence the number of subarrays determines thenumber of beam directions and the corresponding coverage on each OFDMsymbol. However, the number of beams to cover the whole serving area istypically larger than the number of subarrays, especially when theindividual beam-width is narrow. Therefore, to cover the whole servingarea, multiple transmissions with narrow beams differently steered intime domain are also likely to be needed. The provision of multiplenarrow coverage beams for this purpose has been called “beam sweeping”.For analog and hybrid beamforming, the beam sweeping seems to beessential to provide the basic coverage in NR. For this purpose,multiple OFDM symbols, in which differently steered beams can betransmitted through subarrays, can be assigned and periodicallytransmitted.

-   FIG. 4A illustrates TX beam sweeping on 2 subarrays.-   FIG. 4B illustrates TX beam sweeping on 3 subarrays.

SS block and SS burst configuration are now described. The signalscomprised in SS block may be used for measurements on NR carrier,including intra-frequency, inter-frequency and inter-RAT (i.e., NRmeasurements from another RAT).

SSB, NR-PSS, NR-SSS and/or NR-PBCH can be transmitted within an SSblock, which can also be referred to as SS/PBCH block. For a givenfrequency band, an SS block corresponds to N OFDM symbols based on onesubcarrier spacing (e.g., default or configured), and N is a constant.UE shall be able to identify at least OFDM symbol index, slot index in aradio frame and radio frame number from an SS block. A single set ofpossible SS block time locations (e.g., with respect to radio frame orwith respect to SS burst set) is specified per frequency band. At leastfor multi-beams case, at least the time index of SS-block is indicatedto the UE. The position(s) of actual transmitted SS-blocks can beinformed for helping CONNECTED/IDLE mode measurement, for helpingCONNECTED mode UE to receive DL data/control in unused SS-blocks andpotentially for helping IDLE mode UE to receive DL data/control inunused SS-blocks. The maximum number of SS-blocks within SS burst set,L, for different frequency ranges are:

-   o For frequency range up to 3 GHz, L is 4-   o For frequency range from 3 GHz to 6 GHz, L is 8-   o For frequency range from 6 GHz to 52.6 GHz, L is 64

By contrast, one or multiple SS burst(s) further compose an SS burst set(or series) where the number of SS bursts within a SS burst set isfinite. From physical layer specification perspective, at least oneperiodicity of SS burst set is supported. From UE perspective, SS burstset transmission is periodic. At least for initial cell selection, UEmay assume a default periodicity of SS burst set transmission for agiven carrier frequency (e.g., one of 5 ms, 10 ms, 20 ms, 40 ms, 80 ms,or 160 ms). UE may assume that a given SS block is repeated with a SSburst set periodicity. By default, the UE may neither assume the gNBtransmits the same number of physical beam(s), nor the same physicalbeam(s) across different SS-blocks within an SS burst set. In a specialcase, an SS burst set may comprise one SS burst.

For each carrier, the SS blocks may be time-aligned or overlap fully orat least in part, or the beginning of the SS blocks may be time-aligned(e.g., when the actual number of transmitted SS blocks is different indifferent cells). FIG. 5 illustrates an example configuration of SSblocks, SS bursts, and SS burst sets/series.

All SS blocks within a burst set are within 5 ms window, but the numberof SS blocks within such window depends on the numerology (e.g., up to64 SS blocks with 240 kHz subcarrier spacing). FIG. 6 illustrates anexample mapping for SS blocks within a time slot and within the 5 mswindow.

With regard to CSI-RS activation by MAC CE in LTE, the CSI-RSactivation/deactivation by MAC CE command is specified in TS36.321 whereSection 5.19 describes:

The network may activate and deactivate the configured CSI-RS resourcesof a serving cell by sending the Activation/Deactivation of CSI-RSresources MAC control element described in subclause 6.1.3.14.

The configured CSI-RS resources are initially deactivated uponconfiguration and after a handover.

Section 6.1.3.14 discloses:

The Activation/Deactivation of CSI-RS resources MAC control element isidentified by a MAC PDU subheader with LCID as specified in table6.2.1-1. It has variable size as the number of configured CSI process(N) and is defined in FIGS. 6.1.3.14-1 . Activation/Deactivation CSI-RScommand is defined in FIG. 6.1.3.14-2 and activates or deactivatesCSI-RS resources for a CSI process. Activation/Deactivation of CSI-RSresources MAC control element applies to the serving cell on which theUE receives the Activation/Deactivation of CSI-RS resources MAC controlelement.

The Activation/Deactivation of CSI-RS resources MAC control elements isdefined as follows:

-   R_(i): this field indicates the activation/deactivation status of    the CSI-RS resources associated with CSI-RS-ConfigNZPId i for the    CSI-RS process. The R_(i) field is set to “1” to indicate that    CSI-RS resource associated with CSI-RS-ConfigNZPId i for the CSI-RS    process shall be activated. The R_(i) field is set to “0” to    indicate that the CSI-RS-ConfigNZPId i shall be deactivated;

FIG. 7 illustrates activation/deactivation of CSI-RS resources by MACControl element.

FIG. 8 illustrates activation/deactivation of CSI-RS resources by CSI-RScommand.

The MAC activation was introduced in LTE to be able to configure moreCSI-RS resources for a UE that the UE is able to support feedback for asthe MAC CE would selective activate up to max CSI-RS resourcessupported. Then, without the need to reconfigure by RRC, network mayactivate another set among the resources configured for the UE.

With regard to MAC CE usage in NR, the MAC CEs agreed for NR are listed.

RAN1 specificatio n Section MAC CE message Description Value rangeTS38.214 5.2.2.3. 4 Semi-persistent CSI-RS / CSI-IM Activates/deactivates a SP CSI-RS resource set and a SP CSI-IM resource set. Provides theQCL relationship (if activated) SP CSI-RS Resource Set Id (the size ofID <=4bits) | SP CSI-IM Resource Set Id (the size of ID <=4bits) |TCI_State_Id (the size of ID<=6bits) Each activated resource set canhave up to 64 CSI-RS resources therefore Total bits<=4+4+64*6 TS38.2145.2.1.5 Aperiodic CSI trigger state subselection Maps the Sc RRCconfigured aperiodic trigger states to 2^N-1 codepoints in CSI requestfield (N=Bitwidth of CSI request field in DCI) Bitmap of size Sc<=128(Maximum number of 1 s in the bitmap is up to 63.) Sc is variableTS38.214 5.1.5 Activation of TCI (Transmissio n Configuratio nIndication) state(s) for UE-specific PDSCH Activates/deactivat es up to2^N TCI states from a list of M TCI state. Each state of M TCI states isRRC configured with a downlink RS set used as a QCL reference, andMAC-CE is used to select up to 2^N TCI states out of M for PDSCH QCLindication. Bitmap of size M <=64, N=3 TS38.214 5.1.5 Indication of TCIstate for UE specific NR-PDCCH per CORESET Out of the K TCI statesconfigured per CORESET, the MAC-CE selects one out of K. Bitmap toselect one out of K states K <=M (M_max = 64, K_max = M_max) TS38.2145.2.4 Semi-persistent CSI reporting (on PUCCH) activation Activates a SPCSI Report Bitmap with length of the number of SP CSI reporting settingsThe length of bitmap <= [CSI_(SP) =8] bits TS38.214 6.2.1Semi-persistent SRS activation Activates a SP SRS resource set andprovides the spatial relationship (if activated) SP SRS Resource Set Id(the size of ID<=[SRS₁=4]bits) I SSB ID (the size of ID <=6bits) /SRSresource ID (the size of ID<=[SRS₂=5]bits) / CSI-RS resource ID (thesize of ID <=7bits) Each activated resource set can have up to S₂ SRSresources therefore Total bits<=SRS₁+SRS₂ *7

In R1-1721734:

Specification Number Parameter Name Description Size/format TS38.214PUCCH-SpatialRelationInfo Provides the spatial relation for a PUCCHresource PUCCH resource ID (the size of ID <=[N_(CCH)=4]bits) | Bitmapof size (the length of bitmap <= [QCL_(UL)=8] bits) (Bitmap activatesone of the [QCL_(UL)=8] entries within the RRC parameterPUCCH-Spatial-relation-info)

With regard to RLM handing in NR, two types of reference signals (RSTypes) are defined for L3 mobility: PBCH/SS Block (SSB or SS Block),which basically comprises synchronization signals equivalent to PSS/SSSin LTE and PBCH/DMRS, and, CSI-RS for L3 mobility, more configurable andconfigured via dedicated signalling. There are different reasons todefine the two RS types, one of them being the possibility to transmitSSBs in wide beams while CSI-RSs in narrow beams.

In RAN1# NR AdHoc#2, it has been agreed that in NR the RS type used forRLM is also configurable (both CSI-RS based RLM and SS block based RLMare supported) and, it seems natural that the RS type for RLM should beconfigured via RRC signalling. In RAN1#90, further progress was reachedand it was agreed to support single RLM-RS type only to different RLM-RSresources for a UE at a time.

As NR can operate in quite high frequencies (above 6 GHz, but up to 100GHz), these RS types used for RLM can be beamformed. In other words,depending on deployment or operating frequency, the UE can be configuredto monitor beamformed reference signals regardless which RS type isselected for RLM. Hence, differently from LTE, RS for RLM can betransmitted in multiple beams.

In the case of CSI-RS, the time/frequency resource and sequence can beused. As there can be multiple beams, the UE needs to know which ones tomonitor for RLM and how to generate IS/OOS events. In the case of SSB,each beam can be identified by an SSB index (derived from a time indexin PBCH and/or a PBCH/DMRS scrambling). In RAN1#90, it has been agreedthat this is configurable and, in NR the network can configure by RRCsignalling, X RLM resources, either related to SS blocks or CSI-RS, asfollows:

-   One RLM-RS resource can be either one PBCHSS block or one CSI-RS    resource/port;-   The RLM-RS resources are UE-specifically configured at least in case    of CSI-RS based RLM;-   When UE is configured to perform RLM on one or multiple RLM-RS    resource(s),    -   o Periodic IS indicated if the estimated link quality        corresponding to hypothetical PDCCH BLER based on at least Y        RLM-RS resource(s) among all configured X RLM-RS resource(s) is        above Q_in threshold;    -   o Periodic OOS is indicated if the estimated link quality        corresponding to hypothetical PDCCH BLER based on all configured        X RLM-RS resource(s) is below Q_out threshold;        -   ■ That points in the direction that only the quality of best            beam really matters at every sample to generate OOS/IS            events.

In RAN2#94 in Nanjing, the first meeting we have discussed NR mobility,the following has been agreed:

-   Two levels of network controlled mobility:-   1: RRC driven at ‘cell’ level-   2: Zero/Minimum RRC involvement (e.g., at MAC/PHY FFS what is the    definition of a cell)

Since then, it has always been assumed at least in RAN2 that inter-cellmobility relies on RRC level, while intra-cell mobility (which includesbeam management procedures within the same cell) should not have RRCinvolvement.

However, in RAN1#90 the following has been agreed:

-   NR supports to configure X RLM-RS resource(s)    -   One RLM-RS resource can be either one SS/PBCH block or one        CSI-RS resource/port    -   The RLM-RS resources are UE-specifically configured at least in        case of CSI-RS based RLM

Then, in RAN1#90bis, it has been greed that the value of X should belimited, as follows:

-   NR supports configuration of at most X number of RLM-RS (CSI-RS    and/or SSB) resources for a UE    -   o final value of X to be determined in the next meeting and (X<=        [8])    -   o Note: in the deployment scenario where BM is needed, the BM        processing and reporting are a pre-requisite for the network to        select up to X RLM-RSs.    -   o FFS: whether to have different number for sub 6 and above 6        GHz

Then in RAN1#91, it has been agreed that the value of X for the maximumnumber of resources could vary for different frequency ranges, asfollows:

-   For value of X:    -   o For below 3 GHz: X = 2    -   o For above 3 GHz and below 6 GHz: X = 4    -   o For above 6 GHz: X = [8]-   o RLM-SSB: value range is 0, 1, ..., 63-   o RLM-CSI-RS-timeConfig:    -   o Periodicity, P: {5ms, 10 ms, 20 ms, 40 ms}    -   o Slot offset: {0, ..., Ps-1} slots    -   o Where Ps is number of slots within period P in the CSI-RS        numerology-   o RLM-CSI-RS-FreqBand    -   o Adopt the parameter values agreed in BM with following        exception:        -   ■ Minimum number of PRB is 24.

There currently exist certain challenge(s). To help understand them, theconsequences of these agreements must be considered. It has also beenagreed in RAN1that the number of SSBs covering a cell can also vary perfrequency range, and the following values have been agreed inRAN1#88bis:

-   The considered maximum number of SS-blocks, L, within SS burst set    for different frequency ranges are    -   For frequency range up to 3 GHz, the maximum number of        SS-blocks, L, within SS burst set is [1, 2, 4]    -   For frequency range from 3 GHz to 6 GHz, the maximum number of        SS-blocks, L, within SS burst set is [4, 8]    -   For frequency range from 6 GHz to 52.6 GHz, the maximum number        of SS-blocks, L, within SS burst set is

Then, especially for SSB-based RLM, if we compare the values of L(maximum number of transmitted SSBs for cells in a given frequencyrange) and X (maximum number of RLM-RS resources for a given frequencyrange), we will have scenarios where X is lower than L, as shown below:

f <3 GHz 3 GH<f<6 GHz f>6 GHz Max value for X 2 4 8 Max value for L 4 864

As it can be seen from the table above, the number of beams (the term‘beams’ may be used instead of RLM-RS resources) that can be configuredfor RLM is smaller than the number of beams possibly providing cellcoverage. FIG. 9 illustrates this scenario for frequencies between 3 GHZand 6 GHZ where L=8 and X=4 (i.e. for frequencies between 3 GHz and 6GHz). Then, if the UE moves within the coverage of that cell, the beamsto be used for RLM may need to be re-configured, otherwise the UE wouldpossibly start generating OSS events (and possibly declare RLF) eventhough the UE is still under cell coverage.

When that situation happens, what the network would likely want to beable to do is to reconfigure both the beams serving the UE with PDCCHand, consequently, the beams to be monitored for RLM (as these should becorrelated). FIG. 10 illustrates the network re-configuring the PDCCHbeams and consequently the RS-RLM resources/beams.

However, certain problems with the baseline solution exist. For exmaple,RRC signaling is usually considered for re-configurations in mobilenetworks, and hence, it could be assumed every time the UE needs tore-configure RLM-RS parameters such as the as a baseline solution.However, a consequence of the RAN1 decision to have X<L is that, if onlyRLM-RS re-configuration mechanisms allowed is the one based on RRC, UEwould likely require RRC signalling to perform intra-cell mobility,which goes against the very first NR mobility agreement in RAN2. Thus,an observation is that current RAN1assumptions on the maximum RLM-RSresources (equals to 8) requires intra-cell RRC based mobility, which isagainst RAN2 early agreement.

SUMMARY

Certain aspects of the present disclosure and their embodiments mayprovide solutions to these or other challenges. For example, a method isdisclosed that includes a configuration and re-configuration frameworkfor RLM parameters such as, for example, RLM-RS resources. The methodincludes the UE being configured with a set of RLM configurations viaRRC signalling send by the network and these configurations beingpossibly updated for example, by activation/deactivation, via lowerlayer signalling such as, for example, using MAC CEs, DCIs, or othersignalling.

According to certain embodiments, a method by a wireless device isprovided for optimized reconfiguration of radio link monitoring (RLM)and beam monitoring. The method includes receiving, from a first networknode, a first message comprising at least one RLM parameter. A secondmessage indicating activation of the at least one RLM parameterassociated with the first message is received. The second message is alower layer signal compared to the first message.

According to certain embodiments, a wireless device for optimizedreconfiguration of RLM and beam monitoring is provided. The wirelessdevice includes memory storing instructions and processing circuitryoperable to execute the instructions to cause the wireless device toreceive, from a first network node, a first message comprising at leastone RLM parameter and a second message indicating activation of the atleast one RLM parameter associated with the first message is received.The second message is a lower layer signal compared to the firstmessage.

According to certain embodiments, a network node is provided foroptimized reconfiguration of RLM and beam monitoring. The methodincludes sending, to a wireless device, a first message comprising atleast one RLM parameter and sending, to the wireless device, a secondmessage indicating activation of at least one RLM parameter associatedwith the first message. The second message is a lower layer signalcompared to the first message.

According to certain embodiments, a network node for optimizedreconfiguration of RLM and beam monitoring is provided. The network nodeincludes memory storing instructions and processing circuitry operableto execute the instructions to cause the network node to send, to awireless device, a first message comprising at least one RLM parameterand send, to the wireless device, a second message indicating activationof at least one RLM parameter associated with the first message. Thesecond message is a lower layer signal compared to the first message.

Certain embodiments may provide one or more of the following technicaladvantage(s). For example, a technical advantage of certain embodimentsmay include avoiding or minimizing RRC signalling due to intra-cellmobility. In particular, these advantages may be experienced when theRLM parameters need to be updated due to intra-cell mobility.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of the disclosed embodiments and theirfeatures and advantages, reference is now made to the followingdescription, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

FIG. 1 illustrates that physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) may bescheduled anywhere over the whole downlink transmission bandwidth;

FIG. 2 illustrates higher layer radio link monitoring (RLM) proceduresin LTE;

FIG. 3 illustrates an example diagram for hybrid beamforming;

FIG. 4A illustrates TX beam sweeping on 2 subarrays;

FIG. 4B illustrates TX beam sweeping on 3 subarrays;

FIG. 5 illustrates an example configuration of synchronization signal(SS) blocks, SS bursts, and SS burst sets/series;

FIG. 6 illustrates an example mapping for SS blocks within a time slotand within the 5 ms window;

FIG. 7 illustrates activation/deactivation of CSI-RS resources by MACControl element;

FIG. 8 illustrates activation/deactivation of CSI-RS resources by CSI-RScommand;

FIG. 9 illustrates the number of beams that can be configured for RLM issmaller than the number of beams possibly providing cell coverage;

FIG. 10 illustrates the network re-configuring the PDCCH beams andconsequently the RS-RLM resources/beams;

FIG. 11 an example method that includes the UE being configured with aset of RLM configurations via RRC signalling sent by the network,according to certain embodiments;

FIG. 12 illustrates an exemplary network for optimized reconfigurationof RLM and beam monitoring, according to certain embodiments;

FIG. 13 illustrate an example network node for optimized reconfigurationof RLM and beam monitoring, according to certain embodiments;

FIG. 14 illustrates an example wireless device for optimizedreconfiguration of RLM and beam monitoring, according to certainembodiments;

FIG. 15 illustrates an example user equipment, according to certainembodiments;

FIG. 16 illustrates an example virtualization environment in whichfunctions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized, accordingto certain embodiments;

FIG. 17 illustrates a telecommunication network connected via anintermediate network to a host computer, according to certainembodiments;

FIG. 18 illustrates a generalized block diagram of a host computercommunicating via a base station with a user equipment over a partiallywireless connection, according to certain embodiments;

FIG. 19 illustrates a method implemented in a communication system,according to one embodiment;

FIG. 20 illustrates another method implemented in a communicationsystem, according to one embodiment;

FIG. 21 illustrates another method implemented in a communicationsystem, according to one embodiment;

FIG. 22 illustrates another method implemented in a communicationsystem, according to one embodiment;

FIG. 23 illustrates an example method by a wireless device for optimizedreconfiguration of RLM and beam monitoring, according to certainembodiments;

FIG. 24 illustrates an example virtual computing device for optimizedreconfiguration of RLM and beam monitoring, according to certainembodiments;

FIG. 25 illustrates an exemplary method by a network node for optimizedreconfiguration of RLM and beam monitoring, according to certainembodiments; and

FIG. 26 illustrates another example virtual computing device foroptimized reconfiguration of RLM and beam monitoring, according tocertain embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Some of the embodiments contemplated herein will now be described morefully with reference to the accompanying drawings. Other embodiments,however, are contained within the scope of the subject matter disclosedherein, the disclosed subject matter should not be construed as limitedto only the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments areprovided by way of example to convey the scope of the subject matter tothose skilled in the art.

Generally, all terms used herein are to be interpreted according totheir ordinary meaning in the relevant technical field, unless adifferent meaning is clearly given and/or is implied from the context inwhich it is used. All references to a/an/the element, apparatus,component, means, step, etc. are to be interpreted openly as referringto at least one instance of the element, apparatus, component, means,step, etc., unless explicitly stated otherwise. The steps of any methodsdisclosed herein do not have to be performed in the exact orderdisclosed, unless a step is explicitly described as following orpreceding another step and/or where it is implicit that a step mustfollow or precede another step. Any feature of any of the embodimentsdisclosed herein may be applied to any other embodiment, whereverappropriate. Likewise, any advantage of any of the embodiments may applyto any other embodiments, and vice versa. Other objectives, features andadvantages of the enclosed embodiments will be apparent from thefollowing description.

In some embodiments a non-limiting term “UE” is used. The UE herein canbe any type of wireless device capable of communicating with networknode or another UE over radio signals. The UE may also be radiocommunication device, target device, device to device (D2D) UE, machinetype UE or UE capable of machine to machine communication (M2M), asensor equipped with UE, iPAD, Tablet, mobile terminals, smart phone,laptop embedded equipped (LEE), laptop mounted equipment (LME), USBdongles, Customer Premises Equipment (CPE) etc.

Also in some embodiments generic terminology “network node”, is used. Itcan be any kind of network node which may comprise of a radio networknode such as base station, radio base station, base transceiver station,base station controller, network controller, multi-standard radio BS,gNB, en-gNB, ng-eNB, NR BS, evolved Node B (eNB), Node B,Multi-cell/multicast Coordination Entity (MCE), relay node, accesspoint, radio access point, Remote Radio Unit (RRU) Remote Radio Head(RRH), a multi-standard BS (a.k.a. MSR BS), a core network node (e.g.,MME, SON node, a coordinating node, positioning node, MDT node, etc.),or even an external node (e.g., 3^(rd) party node, a node external tothe current network), etc. The network node may also comprise a testequipment.

The term “BS” may comprise, e.g., gNB, en-gNB or ng-eNB or a relay node,or any BS compliant with the embodiments.

The term “radio node” used herein may be used to denote a UE or a radionetwork node.

The term “signaling” used herein may comprise any of: high-layersignaling (e.g., via RRC or a like), lower-layer signaling (e.g., via aphysical control channel or a broadcast channel), or a combinationthereof. The signaling may be implicit or explicit. The signaling mayfurther be unicast, multicast or broadcast. The signaling may also bedirectly to another node or via a third node.

The term RLM procedure used herein may refer to any process occurs oraction taken by the UE during the RLM. Examples of such processes oractions are OOS evaluation, IS evaluation, filtering of IS/OOS (e.g.start of counters), triggering of RLF, start or expiration of RLF timeretc.

The term RLM performance used herein may refer to any criteria or metricwhich characterizes the performance of the RLM performed by a radionode. Examples of RLM performance criteria are evaluation period overwhich the IS/OOS are detected, time period within which the UEtransmitter is to be turned off upon expiration of RLF timer etc.

The term numerology here may comprise any one or a combination of:subcarrier spacing, number of subcarriers within a bandwidth, resourceblock size, symbol length, CP length, etc. In one specific non-limitingexample, numerology comprises subcarrier spacing of 7.5 kHz, 15 kHz, 30kHz, 60 kHz, 120 kHz, or 240 kHz. In another example, numerology is theCP length which may be used with subcarrier spacing 30 kHz or larger.

According to certain embodiments, a method is provided that includes aconfiguration and re-configuration framework for RLM parameters, whichmay include, as one example, RLM-RS resources. FIG. 11 illustrates anexample method 50 that includes the UE being configured with a set ofRLM configurations via RRC signalling sent by the network at step 52,according to certain embodiments. As depicted, the configurations arepossibly updated such as, for exmaple, by activation/deactivation, vialower layer signalling at step 54, which may include using MAC Ces,DCIs, or other signalling elements.

Additional details described below include:

-   the RLM configuration(s)/re-configuration(s) the UE may receive via    higher layer signalling (e.g. RRC message);-   the kind of higher layer messages (and associated scenarios) the UE    may receive the RLM configuration/re-configurations;-   the kind of updates the UE may perform based on the messages    transmitted via lower layer signalling related to the previously    provided configuration(s)/re-configuration(s) via higher layer    signalling (RRC).

Other techniques have been proposed for NR changing a set of RLM-RSresources. For example, re-configurations of RLM parameters has beenproposed elsewhere. However, the focus in those disclosures is not atall related to trying to make the re-configuration framework asefficient as possible. Rather, it was proposed that for the differentkinds of re-configurations of RLM parameters there could be different UEactions that should be taken depending on the configuration. Asdisclosed herein, however, the focus is on making the re-configurationframework as efficient as possible to avoid/minimize the intra-cell RRCsignalling.

As another example, there have previous disclosures relating to RLMre-configuration upon BWP switching. More specifically, a method hasbeen proposed where the UE is configured by the network with one ormultiple RLM configuration(s) or determines (e.g., based on apre-defined rule) one or more RLM configuration parameters based on theactive BWP or the set of active BWPs. One of them can be configured bythe network or determined by the UE (e-g-. based on a pre-defined rule)as active RLM configuration. There may also be a default RLMreconfiguration, which is configured by the network, specified by thestandard, or determined by the UE based on a pre-defined rule; thedefault RLM configuration may or may not be further associated with adefault BWP. By contrast, in the techniques disclosed herein, each RLMconfiguration comprises at least one set of radio resources andconfiguration parameters for doing RLM within one bandwidth part (BWP).

Further, the change proposed in previous solutions is a change of RLMconfigurations when there is a change in BWP. Meanwhile, the techniquesdisclosed herein are applied in the case where the RLM parameters mustbe changed even if the UE is still within the same BWP such as, forexample, when there is the need for an optimized RLM re-configurationframework even though the UE remains in the same BWP, e.g., due tointra-cell mobility.

With regard to the RLM configuration(s)/reconfiguration(s) the UE mayreceive via higher layer signaling, according to a first set ofembodiments, the UE may receive from the network a mapping between oneor multiple (e.g. N1) RLM configuration(s) and a set of indexes andapplies that configuration. One such example mapping is shown in Table1:

TABLE 1 RLM configuration-1 Index 1 RLM configuration-2 Index 2 ... RLMconfiguration-N1 Index N1

The higher layer message can also indicate to the UE (implicitly orexplicitly) which configuration should be activated upon receiving thehigher layer message. By doing the need for a follow up via a lowerlayer update message (e.g. MAC CE) may be avoided at least when the UEjust receives the configuration from the higher layers such as, forexample, when a handover occurs, when the UE is resuming or establishinga connection or when the network simply decides to re-configure RLMparameters with higher layer signalling.

The explicit indication could be a flag indicating a “default”configuration to be considered initially activated. The implicitindication for the default configuration could be simply a specificindex in the set of configurations, such as the first index. UE usesthat default the UE activates upon receiving the message and remainsusing until it receives a new configuration from higher layers to anupdate command from lower layers. If only one configuration is provided,that implicit indication means the UE only changes its RLM configurationvia RRC signalling.

Each RLM configuration described in the table above can be related todifferent parameters of a combination of them.

According to certain embodiments, each RLM configuration in that tablecan be a set of RLM-RS resources. Thus, in a particular embodiment, eachset of RLM-RS resources may have the same number of resources as thereis a maximum number X of RLM-RS that can be monitored by the UE at time.Each RLM-RS configuration contains a set of X RLM-RS resources. Inanother embodiment, different RLM-RS configurations can have a differentnumber of RLM-RS resources, which would increase the number of bits toencode the index that activates a given configuration via lower layersignalling but provides higher flexibility to the network.

For example, for frequencies < 3 GHz, X can be up to 2 resources. Asthere can be up to L=4 SSBs (SSB1, SSB2, SSB3, SSB4), the followingcombinations for the X RLM-Rs resources, if we only consider RS type asSSB for the sake of this example are listed in Table 2:

TABLE 2 RLM-RS resource(s) Index (SSB1, SSB2) 0 (SSB1, SSB3) 1 (SSB1,SSB4) 2 (SSB2, SSB3) 3 (SSB2, SSB4) 4 (SSB3, SSB4) 5

Although that could be the configuration/re-configuration provided bythe network to the UE, there could be smarter network decisions in termsof avoiding certain configuration that might be quite unlikely to beused. For example, if SSB1 and SSB4 are quite far apart in the spatialdomain and are never detected by the UE simultaneously anyway, theremight be no point to even consider that configuration as a possible oneto be ever activated by lower layer signalling. Hence, it might be thecase that network /re-configures configures only a subset of likelyconfigurations. That smart network implementation can have the potentialto reduce the number of bits necessary to encode the index in the lowerlayer signalling (e.g. MAC CE). In this example, only adjacent beams areconsidered likely configurations. An example is shown below in Table 3:

TABLE 3 RLM-RS resource(s) Index (SSB1, SSB2) 0 (SSB2, SSB3) 1 (SSB3,SSB4) 2

Notice that although the maximum number of RLM-RS resources for a givenfrequency range is limited, e.g., 2 in the case of frequencies below 3GHz, the UE can still be configured with a lower number of RLM-RSresources. There could also be configurations mixing different number ofresources single and double resources, as shown below in Table 4:

TABLE 4 RLM-RS resource(s) Index (SSB1, SSB2) 0 (SSB1, SSB3) 1 (SSB1,SSB4) 2 (SSB2, SSB3) 3 (SSB2, SSB4) 4 (SSB3, SSB4) 5 SSB1 6 SSB2 7 SSB38 SSB4 9

The previous example have shown only SSB resources as RLM-RS resources.However, not all embodiments are limited to that. Exactly the samereasoning could be applied for other two possible cases:

-   RLM-RS resources to be monitored are configured to be CSI-RS    resources;-   RLM-RS resources to be monitored are configured to be a mix of SSBs    and CSI-RS resources.

For the first case (only CSI-RS resources as RLM-RS(s)), the previousexamples would be quite similar except that instead of SSB index onewould use a CSI-RS index, that can be associated to a CSI-Rsconfiguration (BW, sequence, time domain resources, exact frequencyresources, subcarrier spacing, etc.). Table 5 repeats the first examplebut with CSI-RS:

TABLE 5 RLM-RS resource(s) Index (CSI-RS index 1, CSI-RS index 2) 0(CSI-RS index 1, CSI-RS index 3) 1 (CSI-RS index 1, CSI-RS index 4) 2(CSI-RS index 2, CSI-RS index 3) 3 (CSI-RS index 2, CSI-RS index 4) 4(CSI-RS index 3, CSI-RS index 4) 5

And, at least one example is shown in Table 6 with the combination ofSSBs and CSI-RS resources, where a limited number of configurations isprovided:

TABLE 6 RLM-RS resource(s) Index (CSI-RS index 1, SSB2) 0 (CSI-RS index1, SSB3) 1 (CSI-RS index 1, SSB4) 2 (CSI-RS index 2, SSB3) 3 (CSI-RSindex 2, SSB4) 4 (CSI-RS index 3, SSB4) 5

Notice that the number of bits to be transmitted in the configurationactivation/deactivation message (to be sent by the network via lowerlayers) increases as the number of configurations increase. Hence, tofurther have a more efficient scheme, a solution could be to limit theparameters to be activated via lower layer signalling, while otherparameter could be defined via higher layers only. In one exampleembodiment, RS type is only configured via RRC, while the exactresources can be configured via RRC and activated via lower layersignalling. In another example embodiment, the other way around could bedefined: the exact resource indexes are defined via RRC and theactivation of one RS type or the other (SSB or CSI-RS) is done via lowerlayer signalling.

Although we have provided examples for the case where X=2 and L=4, forfrequencies < 3 Hz, the method, examples and embodiments described abovecan be extended to the other cases too. The main difference would be thenumber of possibly or likely configurations and, possibly, the number ofbits used to send the activation of a given configuration (i.e. thenumber of bits to encode the index of a particular configuration).

In other embodiments, the network simply informs the UE via the RRCsignalling which SSBs are being transmitted by that cell. For example,although in higher layers (>6 Ghz) there can be up to 64 beams/SSBS, anetwork implementation might only be transmitting 16 and, the UE needsto be aware what are these 16 SSBs. In that sense, in this solution theUE can receive the exact 16 beams that are being transmitted, e.g., viaa bitmap of 64 bits. One example is given:

First bitmap of SSBs transmitted: 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 ... 0    

The first 16 bits indicates to the UE that the first 16 SSBs are beingtransmitted by that cell. Hence, UE knows that for RLM based on SSB,only these 16 beams could be activated. Then, the UE could be configured(e.g. via RRC) with another bitmap to indicate which ones (up to 8, asthis is > 6 GHz) are to be monitored for RLM. For example, assume thenetwork decides to configure and activate the first 8 bits.

In one example, only 8 bits are used for the bitmap, where the exact SSBto be monitored for RLM is associated with the previous bitmap. Thefollowing example is associated to the previous example:

Second bitmap of SSBs to be used for RLM: 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1

That bitmap indicates the UE shall monitor for RLM the following: SSB1,SSB2, ..., SSB7 and SSB16. That bitmap can either be provided via RRC orlower layer signalling, e.g., MAC CE. The first time the second bitmapis provided can be done via RRC, while lower layer signaling can be usedto change the RLM-RS resources by providing a different bitmap.

Now a different example is provided, where network decides to transmitintercalated 16 SSBs, out of 64 beams. That means the network transmitsthe following bitmap to indicate that:

First bitmap of SSBs transmitted: 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 ... 0

The UE interpret that as network transmitting SSB1, SSB3, SSB5, SSB7,..., SSB31. Hence, UE knows that for RLM based on SSB, only these 16beams could be activated SSB1, SSB3, SSB5, SSB7, ..., SSB31. Hence, UEcould be configured (e.g. via RRC) with another bitmap to indicate whichones (up to 8, as this is > 6 GHz) are to be monitored for RLM. Forexample, assume network decides to configure and activate the first 8SSBs out of the ones being transmitted. Then, only 8 bits are used forthe bitmap, where the exact SSB to be monitored for RLM is associatedwith the previous bitmap, i.e., the list SSB1, SSB3, SSB5, SSB7, ...,SSB31. For example, the RLM bitmap can be the following:

Second bitmap of SSBs to be used for RLM: 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1

That bitmap indicates the UE shall monitor for RLM the following: SSB1,SSB3, SSB5, SSB7, SSB9, SSB11, SSB13 and SSB31. That bitmap can eitherbe provided via RRC or lower layer signalling, e.g., MAC CE. The firsttime the second bitmap is provided can be done via RRC, while lowerlayer signaling can be used to change the RLM-RS resources by providinga different bitmap.

In yet another embodiment, each RLM configuration in the set describedin the first table can be associated to one of the following parametersor a combination of these:

-   RS type (which can be for example, SSB, CSI-RS or TRS);-   BLER pair (one threshold value for generating OOS indications,    another threshold value for generating IS indications);-   Individual BLER for generating OOS indications-   Individual BLER for generating IS indication-   Combination of any of these, including RLM-RS resources combining    different RS type resources;

In still another embodiment, a single RLM configuration is provided tothe UE via RRC, to be the first one to be considered activated. Then,remaining re-configurations are handled by the lower layers, such as viaMAC CEs.

With regard to the kind of higher layer messages (and associatedscenarios) within which the UE may receive the RLMconfiguration/re-configurations, it is recognized that the RLMconfiguration(s) can be provided, for example, via one of the followingRRC messages, according to certain embodiments:

-   RRCResume, transmitted by the network in response to an    RRCResumeRequest, when the UE wants to resume a connection coming    from inactive state to connected state;-   RRCReconfiguration without synchronization, which is basically when    the UE remains in the same serving cell and update a set of its    parameters. In the case of RLM parameters, that could be transmitted    when the UE enters the coverage of a different TRP of the same cell;-   RRCReconfiguration with synchronization, which is basically a    handover, i.e., inter-cell mobility.

With regard to the kind of updates the UE does based on the messagestransmitted via lower layer signalling related to the previouslyprovided configuration(s)/re-configuration(s) via higher layersignalling (RRC), it is recognized that one alteration of the firstembodiments is that a lower layer signalling, such as a MAC CE, encodesan index associated to one of the RLM configurations provided via higherlayer signalling, such as the ones provided in the table(s) describedabove. Upon receiving that lower layer signaling the UE deactivates thepreviously active configuration, if any, and activates the one indicatedby that lower layer signalling.

For example, if the following table has been provided via higher layersignalling in Table 7:

TABLE 7 RLM configuration-1 Index 1 RLM configuration-2 Index 2 ... RLMconfiguration-N1 Index N1

Each index can be transmitted via the MAC CE. In another embodiment,mainly applicable for the case where RLM-RS resources are the parametersto be updated, there can be a different mechanism based on lower layersignalling. For example, if the UE has a maximum number of RLM.RSresources, each MAC CEs can be used to indicate the UE that one of thefollowing actions or a combination of them shall be performed:

-   remove a set of one or multiple RLM-RS resource(s) previously    configured;-   add a set of one or multiple RLM-RS resource(s);-   delete or not delete RLM related measurements associated to a    previous configuration.

In another embodiment, mainly applicable for the case where RLM-RSresources are the parameters to be updated, there can be a differentmechanism based on the lower layer signaling provides a bitmap to the UEindicating which exact RLM-RS resources out the ones previously providedto the UE (e.g. via RRC signalling) shall be monitored for RLM.

In yet another embodiment, an update of lower layer signalling of thePDDCH configuration, in particular the DL directions that PDCCH is to bedetected by the UE, also triggers the UE to change the RLM-RS resourcesto be monitored. For example, if an indication from lower layersindicates to the UE that PDCCH will stop being transmitted in beamscorrelated/ quasi-collocated with a set of beams as SSB0, SSB1, ...,SSB8 and will start to be transmitted in beams correlated/quasi-collocated with another set of beams SSB1, SSB2, ... , SSB9, theUE update its RLM-RS configuration from SSB0, SSB1, ..., SSB8 to SSB1,SSB2, ..., SSB9.

In yet another example embodiment, a MAC CE updates the set of RLMresources such that when UE receives the MAC CE, it considers theresources pointed by the MAC CE to be the current set of RLM resources.In addition to pointing to RLM resources the MAC CE optionally gives QCLinformation for the RLM resource.

The serving cell of the UE has L SSBs out of which a subset may beconfigured for the UE to be considered as potential RLM resources.Additionally, a UE may be configured with M CSI-RS resources or CSI-RSresource sets each having an ID. Here, M has a specified maximum value.Also, SSBs have IDs which are represented by a maximum of 6 bits. Themaximum number of bits required to represent the IDs for CSI-RSresources or CSI-RS resource sets can be up to 7. We denote the maximumnumber of bits required to represent the CSI-RS resource or CSI-RSresource set IDs by X.

Though FIG. 8 only shows the one octet, the MAC CE may contain as manyof the below described octets as there are RLM resources in theactivated set of RLM resources. In addition, according to certainembodiments, the MAC CE contains octets to describe the MAC CE type,give possibly cell and BWP index, and have a bit that describes if QCLinfo is present or not. Further in addition, the MAC CE may optionallycontain QCL information in additional octets for each RLM resource bygiving the QCL reference RS, SSB or CSI-RS index in an octet, in aparticular embodiment.

Each of the octets giving RS index for RLM resource or the QCL info forthat are formed such that bit R8 tells if the index is for SSB, R8 isset to 1, or for CSI-RS R8 is set to 0. The rest of the bits, R7 to R1are used to give the index of the RLM resource, or QCL info referenceresource. If less than 7 bits are needed then rest are padding bitsignored by MAC entity.

Which octet describes RLM resource and which QCL is predetermined. Forexample, if it is indicated that QCL info is present, then each RLMresource octet that gives CSI-RS resource is followed by an octet thatgives QCL info. Or, after all RLM resources are given, the followingoctets give QCL info for each CSI-RS resource that was present in theorder those where present.

When the UE receives the MAC CE that indicates a set of resources, theUE may compare that set to previous set. For those resources thatexisted also in the previous RLM RS set, UE continues the monitoring andthe evaluations for IS/OOS. For new resources, UE starts the monitoringand evaluation for IS/OOS. For resources that are no longer in the set,UE stops monitoring and discards evaluations for IS/OOS.

The problem could be solved by network implementation in differentmanners. For exmaple, according to certain embodiments, a firstalternative to the problem could be that the number of RLM-RS resourcesis aligned with the maximum number of RLM-RS resources and the maximumnumber of SSBs (i.e. align L and X).

In other embodiments, there could be yet other solutions such as neverconfiguring SSB as RLM-RS and always rely on a set of UE-specific CSI-RSresources that are not re-configured towards the UE but could bebeamformed in different directions by the network tracking/following theUE. That might work in scenarios with very few UEs, where UE-specificCSI-RS resources can be configured. On the other hand, this solution maybe quite complex or unfeasible in the case the network wants toconfigure a set of CSI-RS resources periodically transmitted in the celland shared across multiple UEs (although configuration is still providedin dedicated signaling). Notice that this solution can be used incombination with any of the previous embodiments to reduce the number ofconfiguration and, consequently, the number of bits indicated via lowerlayer signalling. By possibly tracking the UE with CSI-RS, the networkcan configure a limited amount of CSI-RS resource sets, as in many casestracking cam be used and there is no need to re-configure the UE withthe activation mechanism via lower layer signalling.

According to still other embodiments, the problem may be addressed bylimiting what can be deployed in terms of number of SSBs to what can beconfigured in terms of RLM RS resources. A manufacturer would neverimplement/deploy a network like that, and in practice would use L=X.

According to still other embodiments, another network related aspect maybe that the operations executed by higher layers and lower layers couldbe executed by different nodes. In NR, a RAN architecture based on CU(central unit), possibly executing RRC functions and DU (distributedunit), possibly executing MAC functions. Hence, one aspect is that theDU and CU exchange these configurations/re-configurations and activationinformation that is provided to the UE so that both are up to date onthe UE current configuration and activated RLM parameters.

FIG. 12 illustrates a wireless network, in accordance with someembodiments. Although the subject matter described herein may beimplemented in any appropriate type of system using any suitablecomponents, the embodiments disclosed herein are described in relationto a wireless network, such as the example wireless network illustratedin FIG. 12 . For simplicity, the wireless network of FIG. 12 onlydepicts network 106, network nodes 160 and 160 b, and WDs 110, 110 b,and 110 c. In practice, a wireless network may further include anyadditional elements suitable to support communication between wirelessdevices or between a wireless device and another communication device,such as a landline telephone, a service provider, or any other networknode or end device. Of the illustrated components, network node 160 andwireless device (WD) 110 are depicted with additional detail. Thewireless network may provide communication and other types of servicesto one or more wireless devices to facilitate the wireless devices’access to and/or use of the services provided by, or via, the wirelessnetwork.

The wireless network may comprise and/or interface with any type ofcommunication, telecommunication, data, cellular, and/or radio networkor other similar type of system. In some embodiments, the wirelessnetwork may be configured to operate according to specific standards orother types of predefined rules or procedures. Thus, particularembodiments of the wireless network may implement communicationstandards, such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM),Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), Long Term Evolution(LTE), and/or other suitable 2G, 3G, 4G, or 5G standards; wireless localarea network (WLAN) standards, such as the IEEE 802.11 standards; and/orany other appropriate wireless communication standard, such as theWorldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Bluetooth,Z-Wave and/or ZigBee standards.

Network 106 may comprise one or more backhaul networks, core networks,IP networks, public switched telephone networks (PSTNs), packet datanetworks, optical networks, wide-area networks (WANs), local areanetworks (LANs), wireless local area networks (WLANs), wired networks,wireless networks, metropolitan area networks, and other networks toenable communication between devices.

Network node 160 and WD 110 comprise various components described inmore detail below. These components work together in order to providenetwork node and/or wireless device functionality, such as providingwireless connections in a wireless network. In different embodiments,the wireless network may comprise any number of wired or wirelessnetworks, network nodes, base stations, controllers, wireless devices,relay stations, and/or any other components or systems that mayfacilitate or participate in the communication of data and/or signalswhether via wired or wireless connections.

FIG. 13 illustrates an example network node 160, according to certainembodiments. As used herein, network node refers to equipment capable,configured, arranged and/or operable to communicate directly orindirectly with a wireless device and/or with other network nodes orequipment in the wireless network to enable and/or provide wirelessaccess to the wireless device and/or to perform other functions (e.g.,administration) in the wireless network. Examples of network nodesinclude, but are not limited to, access points (APs) (e.g., radio accesspoints), base stations (BSs) (e.g., radio base stations, Node Bs,evolved Node Bs (eNBs) and NR NodeBs (gNBs)). Base stations may becategorized based on the amount of coverage they provide (or, stateddifferently, their transmit power level) and may then also be referredto as femto base stations, pico base stations, micro base stations, ormacro base stations. A base station may be a relay node or a relay donornode controlling a relay. A network node may also include one or more(or all) parts of a distributed radio base station such as centralizeddigital units and/or remote radio units (RRUs), sometimes referred to asRemote Radio Heads (RRHs). Such remote radio units may or may not beintegrated with an antenna as an antenna integrated radio. Parts of adistributed radio base station may also be referred to as nodes in adistributed antenna system (DAS). Yet further examples of network nodesinclude multi-standard radio (MSR) equipment such as MSR BSs, networkcontrollers such as radio network controllers (RNCs) or base stationcontrollers (BSCs), base transceiver stations (BTSs), transmissionpoints, transmission nodes, multi-cell/multicast coordination entities(MCEs), core network nodes (e.g., MSCs, MMEs), O&M nodes, OSS nodes, SONnodes, positioning nodes (e.g., E-SMLCs), and/or MDTs. As anotherexample, a network node may be a virtual network node as described inmore detail below. More generally, however, network nodes may representany suitable device (or group of devices) capable, configured, arranged,and/or operable to enable and/or provide a wireless device with accessto the wireless network or to provide some service to a wireless devicethat has accessed the wireless network.

In FIG. 13 , network node 160 includes processing circuitry 170, devicereadable medium 180, interface 190, auxiliary equipment 184, powersource 186, power circuitry 187, and antenna 162. Although network node160 illustrated in the example wireless network of FIG. 12 may representa device that includes the illustrated combination of hardwarecomponents, other embodiments may comprise network nodes with differentcombinations of components. It is to be understood that a network nodecomprises any suitable combination of hardware and/or software needed toperform the tasks, features, functions and methods disclosed herein.Moreover, while the components of network node 160 are depicted assingle boxes located within a larger box, or nested within multipleboxes, in practice, a network node may comprise multiple differentphysical components that make up a single illustrated component (e.g.,device readable medium 180 may comprise multiple separate hard drives aswell as multiple RAM modules).

Similarly, network node 160 may be composed of multiple physicallyseparate components (e.g., a NodeB component and a RNC component, or aBTS component and a BSC component, etc.), which may each have their ownrespective components. In certain scenarios in which network node 160comprises multiple separate components (e.g., BTS and BSC components),one or more of the separate components may be shared among severalnetwork nodes. For example, a single RNC may control multiple NodeB’s.In such a scenario, each unique NodeB and RNC pair, may in someinstances be considered a single separate network node. In someembodiments, network node 160 may be configured to support multipleradio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some componentsmay be duplicated (e.g., separate device readable medium 180 for thedifferent RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., the sameantenna 162 may be shared by the RATs). Network node 160 may alsoinclude multiple sets of the various illustrated components fordifferent wireless technologies integrated into network node 160, suchas, for example, GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, or Bluetooth wirelesstechnologies. These wireless technologies may be integrated into thesame or different chip or set of chips and other components withinnetwork node 160.

Processing circuitry 170 is configured to perform any determining,calculating, or similar operations (e.g., certain obtaining operations)described herein as being provided by a network node. These operationsperformed by processing circuitry 170 may include processing informationobtained by processing circuitry 170 by, for example, converting theobtained information into other information, comparing the obtainedinformation or converted information to information stored in thenetwork node, and/or performing one or more operations based on theobtained information or converted information, and as a result of saidprocessing making a determination.

Processing circuitry 170 may comprise a combination of one or more of amicroprocessor, controller, microcontroller, central processing unit,digital signal processor, application-specific integrated circuit, fieldprogrammable gate array, or any other suitable computing device,resource, or combination of hardware, software and/or encoded logicoperable to provide, either alone or in conjunction with other networknode 160 components, such as device readable medium 180, network node160 functionality. For example, processing circuitry 170 may executeinstructions stored in device readable medium 180 or in memory withinprocessing circuitry 170. Such functionality may include providing anyof the various wireless features, functions, or benefits discussedherein. In some embodiments, processing circuitry 170 may include asystem on a chip (SOC).

In some embodiments, processing circuitry 170 may include one or more ofradio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 172 and baseband processingcircuitry 174. In some embodiments, radio frequency (RF) transceivercircuitry 172 and baseband processing circuitry 174 may be on separatechips (or sets of chips), boards, or units, such as radio units anddigital units. In alternative embodiments, part or all of RF transceivercircuitry 172 and baseband processing circuitry 174 may be on the samechip or set of chips, boards, or units

In certain embodiments, some or all of the functionality describedherein as being provided by a network node, base station, eNB or othersuch network device may be performed by processing circuitry 170executing instructions stored on device readable medium 180 or memorywithin processing circuitry 170. In alternative embodiments, some or allof the functionality may be provided by processing circuitry 170 withoutexecuting instructions stored on a separate or discrete device readablemedium, such as in a hard-wired manner. In any of those embodiments,whether executing instructions stored on a device readable storagemedium or not, processing circuitry 170 can be configured to perform thedescribed functionality. The benefits provided by such functionality arenot limited to processing circuitry 170 alone or to other components ofnetwork node 160, but are enjoyed by network node 160 as a whole, and/orby end users and the wireless network generally.

Device readable medium 180 may comprise any form of volatile ornon-volatile computer readable memory including, without limitation,persistent storage, solid-state memory, remotely mounted memory,magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM), read-onlymemory (ROM), mass storage media (for example, a hard disk), removablestorage media (for example, a flash drive, a Compact Disk (CD) or aDigital Video Disk (DVD)), and/or any other volatile or non-volatile,non-transitory device readable and/or computer-executable memory devicesthat store information, data, and/or instructions that may be used byprocessing circuitry 170. Device readable medium 180 may store anysuitable instructions, data or information, including a computerprogram, software, an application including one or more of logic, rules,code, tables, etc. and/or other instructions capable of being executedby processing circuitry 170 and, utilized by network node 160. Devicereadable medium 180 may be used to store any calculations made byprocessing circuitry 170 and/or any data received via interface 190. Insome embodiments, processing circuitry 170 and device readable medium180 may be considered to be integrated.

Interface 190 is used in the wired or wireless communication ofsignalling and/or data between network node 160, network 106, and/or WDs110. As illustrated, interface 190 comprises port(s)/terminal(s) 194 tosend and receive data, for example to and from network 106 over a wiredconnection. Interface 190 also includes radio front end circuitry 192that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, antenna162. Radio front end circuitry 192 comprises filters 198 and amplifiers196. Radio front end circuitry 192 may be connected to antenna 162 andprocessing circuitry 170. Radio front end circuitry may be configured tocondition signals communicated between antenna 162 and processingcircuitry 170. Radio front end circuitry 192 may receive digital datathat is to be sent out to other network nodes or WDs via a wirelessconnection. Radio front end circuitry 192 may convert the digital datainto a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidthparameters using a combination of filters 198 and/or amplifiers 196. Theradio signal may then be transmitted via antenna 162. Similarly, whenreceiving data, antenna 162 may collect radio signals which are thenconverted into digital data by radio front end circuitry 192. Thedigital data may be passed to processing circuitry 170. In otherembodiments, the interface may comprise different components and/ordifferent combinations of components.

In certain alternative embodiments, network node 160 may not includeseparate radio front end circuitry 192, instead, processing circuitry170 may comprise radio front end circuitry and may be connected toantenna 162 without separate radio front end circuitry 192. Similarly,in some embodiments, all or some of RF transceiver circuitry 172 may beconsidered a part of interface 190. In still other embodiments,interface 190 may include one or more ports or terminals 194, radiofront end circuitry 192, and RF transceiver circuitry 172, as part of aradio unit (not shown), and interface 190 may communicate with basebandprocessing circuitry 174, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).

Antenna 162 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays,configured to send and/or receive wireless signals. Antenna 162 may becoupled to radio front end circuitry 190 and may be any type of antennacapable of transmitting and receiving data and/or signals wirelessly. Insome embodiments, antenna 162 may comprise one or more omni-directional,sector or panel antennas operable to transmit/receive radio signalsbetween, for example, 2 GHz and 66 GHz. An omni-directional antenna maybe used to transmit/receive radio signals in any direction, a sectorantenna may be used to transmit/receive radio signals from deviceswithin a particular area, and a panel antenna may be a line of sightantenna used to transmit/receive radio signals in a relatively straightline. In some instances, the use of more than one antenna may bereferred to as MIMO. In certain embodiments, antenna 162 may be separatefrom network node 160 and may be connectable to network node 160 throughan interface or port.

Antenna 162, interface 190, and/or processing circuitry 170 may beconfigured to perform any receiving operations and/or certain obtainingoperations described herein as being performed by a network node. Anyinformation, data and/or signals may be received from a wireless device,another network node and/or any other network equipment. Similarly,antenna 162, interface 190, and/or processing circuitry 170 may beconfigured to perform any transmitting operations described herein asbeing performed by a network node. Any information, data and/or signalsmay be transmitted to a wireless device, another network node and/or anyother network equipment.

Power circuitry 187 may comprise, or be coupled to, power managementcircuitry and is configured to supply the components of network node 160with power for performing the functionality described herein. Powercircuitry 187 may receive power from power source 186. Power source 186and/or power circuitry 187 may be configured to provide power to thevarious components of network node 160 in a form suitable for therespective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed foreach respective component). Power source 186 may either be included in,or external to, power circuitry 187 and/or network node 160. Forexample, network node 160 may be connectable to an external power source(e.g., an electricity outlet) via an input circuitry or interface suchas an electrical cable, whereby the external power source supplies powerto power circuitry 187. As a further example, power source 186 maycomprise a source of power in the form of a battery or battery packwhich is connected to, or integrated in, power circuitry 187. Thebattery may provide backup power should the external power source fail.Other types of power sources, such as photovoltaic devices, may also beused.

Alternative embodiments of network node 160 may include additionalcomponents beyond those shown in FIG. 1 that may be responsible forproviding certain aspects of the network node’s functionality, includingany of the functionality described herein and/or any functionalitynecessary to support the subject matter described herein. For example,network node 160 may include user interface equipment to allow input ofinformation into network node 160 and to allow output of informationfrom network node 160. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic,maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for network node160.

FIG. 14 illustrates an example wireless device (WD) 110, according tocertain embodiments. As used herein, WD refers to a device capable,configured, arranged and/or operable to communicate wirelessly withnetwork nodes and/or other wireless devices. Unless otherwise noted, theterm WD may be used interchangeably herein with user equipment (UE).Communicating wirelessly may involve transmitting and/or receivingwireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infraredwaves, and/or other types of signals suitable for conveying informationthrough air. In some embodiments, a WD may be configured to transmitand/or receive information without direct human interaction. Forinstance, a WD may be designed to transmit information to a network on apredetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event,or in response to requests from the network. Examples of a WD include,but are not limited to, a smart phone, a mobile phone, a cell phone, avoice over IP (VoIP) phone, a wireless local loop phone, a desktopcomputer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a wireless cameras, agaming console or device, a music storage device, a playback appliance,a wearable terminal device, a wireless endpoint, a mobile station, atablet, a laptop, a laptop-embedded equipment (LEE), a laptop-mountedequipment (LME), a smart device, a wireless customer-premise equipment(CPE). a vehicle-mounted wireless terminal device, etc.. A WD maysupport device-to-device (D2D) communication, for example byimplementing a 3GPP standard for sidelink communication,vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I),vehicle-to-everything (V2X) and may in this case be referred to as a D2Dcommunication device. As yet another specific example, in an Internet ofThings (IoT) scenario, a WD may represent a machine or other device thatperforms monitoring and/or measurements, and transmits the results ofsuch monitoring and/or measurements to another WD and/or a network node.The WD may in this case be a machine-to-machine (M2M) device, which mayin a 3GPP context be referred to as an MTC device. As one particularexample, the WD may be a UE implementing the 3GPP narrow band internetof things (NB-IoT) standard. Particular examples of such machines ordevices are sensors, metering devices such as power meters, industrialmachinery, or home or personal appliances (e.g. refrigerators,televisions, etc.) personal wearables (e.g., watches, fitness trackers,etc.). In other scenarios, a WD may represent a vehicle or otherequipment that is capable of monitoring and/or reporting on itsoperational status or other functions associated with its operation. AWD as described above may represent the endpoint of a wirelessconnection, in which case the device may be referred to as a wirelessterminal. Furthermore, a WD as described above may be mobile, in whichcase it may also be referred to as a mobile device or a mobile terminal.

As illustrated in FIG. 14 , wireless device 110 includes antenna 111,interface 114, processing circuitry 120, device readable medium 130,user interface equipment 132, auxiliary equipment 134, power source 136and power circuitry 137. WD 110 may include multiple sets of one or moreof the illustrated components for different wireless technologiessupported by WD 110, such as, for example, GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi,WiMAX, or Bluetooth wireless technologies, just to mention a few. Thesewireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chipsor set of chips as other components within WD 110.

Antenna 111 may include one or more antennas or antenna arrays,configured to send and/or receive wireless signals, and is connected tointerface 114. In certain alternative embodiments, antenna 111 may beseparate from WD 110 and be connectable to WD 110 through an interfaceor port. Antenna 111, interface 114, and/or processing circuitry 120 maybe configured to perform any receiving or transmitting operationsdescribed herein as being performed by a WD. Any information, dataand/or signals may be received from a network node and/or another WD. Insome embodiments, radio front end circuitry and/or antenna 111 may beconsidered an interface.

As illustrated in FIG. 14 , interface 114 comprises radio front endcircuitry 112 and antenna 111. Radio front end circuitry 112 compriseone or more filters 118 and amplifiers 116. Radio front end circuitry114 is connected to antenna 111 and processing circuitry 120, and isconfigured to condition signals communicated between antenna 111 andprocessing circuitry 120. Radio front end circuitry 112 may be coupledto or a part of antenna 111. In some embodiments, WD 110 may not includeseparate radio front end circuitry 112; rather, processing circuitry 120may comprise radio front end circuitry and may be connected to antenna111. Similarly, in some embodiments, some or all of RF transceivercircuitry 122 may be considered a part of interface 114. Radio front endcircuitry 112 may receive digital data that is to be sent out to othernetwork nodes or WDs via a wireless connection. Radio front endcircuitry 112 may convert the digital data into a radio signal havingthe appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination offilters 118 and/or amplifiers 116. The radio signal may then betransmitted via antenna 111. Similarly, when receiving data, antenna 111may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data byradio front end circuitry 112. The digital data may be passed toprocessing circuitry 120. In other embodiments, the interface maycomprise different components and/or different combinations ofcomponents.

Processing circuitry 120 may comprise a combination of one or more of amicroprocessor, controller, microcontroller, central processing unit,digital signal processor, application-specific integrated circuit, fieldprogrammable gate array, or any other suitable computing device,resource, or combination of hardware, software, and/or encoded logicoperable to provide, either alone or in conjunction with other WD 110components, such as device readable medium 130, WD 110 functionality.Such functionality may include providing any of the various wirelessfeatures or benefits discussed herein. For example, processing circuitry120 may execute instructions stored in device readable medium 130 or inmemory within processing circuitry 120 to provide the functionalitydisclosed herein.

As illustrated in FIG. 14 , processing circuitry 120 includes one ormore of RF transceiver circuitry 122, baseband processing circuitry 124,and application processing circuitry 126. In other embodiments, theprocessing circuitry may comprise different components and/or differentcombinations of components. In certain embodiments processing circuitry120 of WD 110 may comprise a SOC. In some embodiments, RF transceivercircuitry 122, baseband processing circuitry 124, and applicationprocessing circuitry 126 may be on separate chips or sets of chips. Inalternative embodiments, part or all of baseband processing circuitry124 and application processing circuitry 126 may be combined into onechip or set of chips, and RF transceiver circuitry 122 may be on aseparate chip or set of chips. In still alternative embodiments, part orall of RF transceiver circuitry 122 and baseband processing circuitry124 may be on the same chip or set of chips, and application processingcircuitry 126 may be on a separate chip or set of chips. In yet otheralternative embodiments, part or all of RF transceiver circuitry 122,baseband processing circuitry 124, and application processing circuitry126 may be combined in the same chip or set of chips. In someembodiments, RF transceiver circuitry 122 may be a part of interface114. RF transceiver circuitry 122 may condition RF signals forprocessing circuitry 120.

In certain embodiments, some or all of the functionality describedherein as being performed by a WD may be provided by processingcircuitry 120 executing instructions stored on device readable medium130, which in certain embodiments may be a computer-readable storagemedium. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality maybe provided by processing circuitry 120 without executing instructionsstored on a separate or discrete device readable storage medium, such asin a hard-wired manner. In any of those particular embodiments, whetherexecuting instructions stored on a device readable storage medium ornot, processing circuitry 120 can be configured to perform the describedfunctionality. The benefits provided by such functionality are notlimited to processing circuitry 120 alone or to other components of WD110, but are enjoyed by WD 110 as a whole, and/or by end users and thewireless network generally.

Processing circuitry 120 may be configured to perform any determining,calculating, or similar operations (e.g., certain obtaining operations)described herein as being performed by a WD. These operations, asperformed by processing circuitry 120, may include processinginformation obtained by processing circuitry 120 by, for example,converting the obtained information into other information, comparingthe obtained information or converted information to information storedby WD 110, and/or performing one or more operations based on theobtained information or converted information, and as a result of saidprocessing making a determination.

Device readable medium 130 may be operable to store a computer program,software, an application including one or more of logic, rules, code,tables, etc. and/or other instructions capable of being executed byprocessing circuitry 120. Device readable medium 130 may includecomputer memory (e.g., Random Access Memory (RAM) or Read Only Memory(ROM)), mass storage media (e.g., a hard disk), removable storage media(e.g., a Compact Disk (CD) or a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), and/or anyother volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device readable and/orcomputer executable memory devices that store information, data, and/orinstructions that may be used by processing circuitry 120. In someembodiments, processing circuitry 120 and device readable medium 130 maybe considered to be integrated.

User interface equipment 132 may provide components that allow for ahuman user to interact with WD 110. Such interaction may be of manyforms, such as visual, audial, tactile, etc. User interface equipment132 may be operable to produce output to the user and to allow the userto provide input to WD 110. The type of interaction may vary dependingon the type of user interface equipment 132 installed in WD 110. Forexample, if WD 110 is a smart phone, the interaction may be via a touchscreen; if WD 110 is a smart meter, the interaction may be through ascreen that provides usage (e.g., the number of gallons used) or aspeaker that provides an audible alert (e.g., if smoke is detected).User interface equipment 132 may include input interfaces, devices andcircuits, and output interfaces, devices and circuits. User interfaceequipment 132 is configured to allow input of information into WD 110,and is connected to processing circuitry 120 to allow processingcircuitry 120 to process the input information. User interface equipment132 may include, for example, a microphone, a proximity or other sensor,keys/buttons, a touch display, one or more cameras, a USB port, or otherinput circuitry. User interface equipment 132 is also configured toallow output of information from WD 110, and to allow processingcircuitry 120 to output information from WD 110. User interfaceequipment 132 may include, for example, a speaker, a display, vibratingcircuitry, a USB port, a headphone interface, or other output circuitry.Using one or more input and output interfaces, devices, and circuits, ofuser interface equipment 132, WD 110 may communicate with end usersand/or the wireless network, and allow them to benefit from thefunctionality described herein.

Auxiliary equipment 134 is operable to provide more specificfunctionality which may not be generally performed by WDs. This maycomprise specialized sensors for doing measurements for variouspurposes, interfaces for additional types of communication such as wiredcommunications etc. The inclusion and type of components of auxiliaryequipment 134 may vary depending on the embodiment and/or scenario.

Power source 136 may, in some embodiments, be in the form of a batteryor battery pack. Other types of power sources, such as an external powersource (e.g., an electricity outlet), photovoltaic devices or powercells, may also be used. WD 110 may further comprise power circuitry 137for delivering power from power source 136 to the various parts of WD110 which need power from power source 136 to carry out anyfunctionality described or indicated herein. Power circuitry 137 may incertain embodiments comprise power management circuitry. Power circuitry137 may additionally or alternatively be operable to receive power froman external power source; in which case WD 110 may be connectable to theexternal power source (such as an electricity outlet) via inputcircuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Powercircuitry 137 may also in certain embodiments be operable to deliverpower from an external power source to power source 136. This may be,for example, for the charging of power source 136. Power circuitry 137may perform any formatting, converting, or other modification to thepower from power source 136 to make the power suitable for therespective components of WD 110 to which power is supplied.

FIG. 15 illustrates an example UE 200, according to certain embodiments.As used herein, a user equipment or UE may not necessarily have a userin the sense of a human user who owns and/or operates the relevantdevice. Instead, a UE may represent a device that is intended for saleto, or operation by, a human user but which may not, or which may notinitially, be associated with a specific human user (e.g., a smartsprinkler controller). Alternatively, a UE may represent a device thatis not intended for sale to, or operation by, an end user but which maybe associated with or operated for the benefit of a user (e.g., a smartpower meter). UE 2200 may be any UE identified by the 3^(rd) GenerationPartnership Project (3GPP), including a NB-IoT UE, a machine typecommunication (MTC) UE, and/or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE. UE 200, asillustrated in FIG. 2 , is one example of a WD configured forcommunication in accordance with one or more communication standardspromulgated by the 3^(rd) Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), such as3GPP’s GSM, UMTS, LTE, and/or 5G standards. As mentioned previously, theterm WD and UE may be used interchangeable. Accordingly, although FIG.15 is a UE, the components discussed herein are equally applicable to aWD, and vice-versa.

In FIG. 15 , UE 200 includes processing circuitry 201 that isoperatively coupled to input/output interface 205, radio frequency (RF)interface 209, network connection interface 211, memory 215 includingrandom access memory (RAM) 217, read-only memory (ROM) 219, and storagemedium 221 or the like, communication subsystem 231, power source 233,and/or any other component, or any combination thereof. Storage medium221 includes operating system 223, application program 225, and data227. In other embodiments, storage medium 221 may include other similartypes of information. Certain UEs may utilize all of the componentsshown in FIG. 2 , or only a subset of the components. The level ofintegration between the components may vary from one UE to another UE.Further, certain UEs may contain multiple instances of a component, suchas multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers,etc.

In FIG. 15 , processing circuitry 201 may be configured to processcomputer instructions and data. Processing circuitry 201 may beconfigured to implement any sequential state machine operative toexecute machine instructions stored as machine-readable computerprograms in the memory, such as one or more hardware-implemented statemachines (e.g., in discrete logic, FPGA, ASIC, etc.); programmable logictogether with appropriate firmware; one or more stored program,general-purpose processors, such as a microprocessor or Digital SignalProcessor (DSP), together with appropriate software; or any combinationof the above. For example, the processing circuitry 201 may include twocentral processing units (CPUs). Data may be information in a formsuitable for use by a computer.

In the depicted embodiment, input/output interface 205 may be configuredto provide a communication interface to an input device, output device,or input and output device. UE 200 may be configured to use an outputdevice via input/output interface 205. An output device may use the sametype of interface port as an input device. For example, a USB port maybe used to provide input to and output from UE 200. The output devicemay be a speaker, a sound card, a video card, a display, a monitor, aprinter, an actuator, an emitter, a smartcard, another output device, orany combination thereof. UE 200 may be configured to use an input devicevia input/output interface 205 to allow a user to capture informationinto UE 200. The input device may include a touch-sensitive orpresence-sensitive display, a camera (e.g., a digital camera, a digitalvideo camera, a web camera, etc.), a microphone, a sensor, a mouse, atrackball, a directional pad, a trackpad, a scroll wheel, a smartcard,and the like. The presence-sensitive display may include a capacitive orresistive touch sensor to sense input from a user. A sensor may be, forinstance, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a tilt sensor, a force sensor,a magnetometer, an optical sensor, a proximity sensor, another likesensor, or any combination thereof. For example, the input device may bean accelerometer, a magnetometer, a digital camera, a microphone, and anoptical sensor.

In FIG. 15 , RF interface 209 may be configured to provide acommunication interface to RF components such as a transmitter, areceiver, and an antenna. Network connection interface 211 may beconfigured to provide a communication interface to network 243 a.Network 243 a may encompass wired and/or wireless networks such as alocal-area network (LAN), a wide-area network (WAN), a computer network,a wireless network, a telecommunications network, another like networkor any combination thereof. For example, network 243 a may comprise aWi-Fi network. Network connection interface 211 may be configured toinclude a receiver and a transmitter interface used to communicate withone or more other devices over a communication network according to oneor more communication protocols, such as Ethernet, TCP/IP, SONET, ATM,or the like. Network connection interface 211 may implement receiver andtransmitter functionality appropriate to the communication network links(e.g., optical, electrical, and the like). The transmitter and receiverfunctions may share circuit components, software or firmware, oralternatively may be implemented separately.

RAM 217 may be configured to interface via bus 202 to processingcircuitry 201 to provide storage or caching of data or computerinstructions during the execution of software programs such as theoperating system, application programs, and device drivers. ROM 219 maybe configured to provide computer instructions or data to processingcircuitry 201. For example, ROM 219 may be configured to store invariantlow-level system code or data for basic system functions such as basicinput and output (I/O), startup, or reception of keystrokes from akeyboard that are stored in a non-volatile memory. Storage medium 221may be configured to include memory such as RAM, ROM, programmableread-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM),electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), magneticdisks, optical disks, floppy disks, hard disks, removable cartridges, orflash drives. In one example, storage medium 221 may be configured toinclude operating system 223, application program 225 such as a webbrowser application, a widget or gadget engine or another application,and data file 227. Storage medium 221 may store, for use by UE 200, anyof a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operatingsystems.

Storage medium 221 may be configured to include a number of physicaldrive units, such as redundant array of independent disks (RAID), floppydisk drive, flash memory, USB flash drive, external hard disk drive,thumb drive, pen drive, key drive, high-density digital versatile disc(HD-DVD) optical disc drive, internal hard disk drive, Blu-Ray opticaldisc drive, holographic digital data storage (HDDS) optical disc drive,external mini-dual in-line memory module (DIMM), synchronous dynamicrandom access memory (SDRAM), external micro-DIMM SDRAM, smartcardmemory such as a subscriber identity module or a removable user identity(SIM/RUIM) module, other memory, or any combination thereof. Storagemedium 221 may allow UE 200 to access computer-executable instructions,application programs or the like, stored on transitory or non-transitorymemory media, to off-load data, or to upload data. An article ofmanufacture, such as one utilizing a communication system may betangibly embodied in storage medium 221, which may comprise a devicereadable medium.

In FIURE 15, processing circuitry 201 may be configured to communicatewith network 243 b using communication subsystem 231. Network 243 a andnetwork 243 b may be the same network or networks or different networkor networks. Communication subsystem 231 may be configured to includeone or more transceivers used to communicate with network 243 b. Forexample, communication subsystem 231 may be configured to include one ormore transceivers used to communicate with one or more remotetransceivers of another device capable of wireless communication such asanother WD, UE, or base station of a radio access network (RAN)according to one or more communication protocols, such as IEEE 802.11,CDMA, WCDMA, GSM, LTE, UTRAN, WiMax, or the like. Each transceiver mayinclude transmitter 233 and/or receiver 235 to implement transmitter orreceiver functionality, respectively, appropriate to the RAN links(e.g., frequency allocations and the like). Further, transmitter 233 andreceiver 235 of each transceiver may share circuit components, softwareor firmware, or alternatively may be implemented separately.

In the illustrated embodiment, the communication functions ofcommunication subsystem 231 may include data communication, voicecommunication, multimedia communication, short-range communications suchas Bluetooth, near-field communication, location-based communicationsuch as the use of the global positioning system (GPS) to determine alocation, another like communication function, or any combinationthereof. For example, communication subsystem 231 may include cellularcommunication, Wi-Fi communication, Bluetooth communication, and GPScommunication. Network 243 b may encompass wired and/or wirelessnetworks such as a local-area network (LAN), a wide-area network (WAN),a computer network, a wireless network, a telecommunications network,another like network or any combination thereof. For example, network243 b may be a cellular network, a Wi-Fi network, and/or a near-fieldnetwork. Power source 213 may be configured to provide alternatingcurrent (AC) or direct current (DC) power to components of UE 200.

The features, benefits and/or functions described herein may beimplemented in one of the components of UE 200 or partitioned acrossmultiple components of UE 200. Further, the features, benefits, and/orfunctions described herein may be implemented in any combination ofhardware, software or firmware. In one example, communication subsystem231 may be configured to include any of the components described herein.Further, processing circuitry 201 may be configured to communicate withany of such components over bus 202. In another example, any of suchcomponents may be represented by program instructions stored in memorythat when executed by processing circuitry 201 perform the correspondingfunctions described herein. In another example, the functionality of anyof such components may be partitioned between processing circuitry 201and communication subsystem 231. In another example, thenon-computationally intensive functions of any of such components may beimplemented in software or firmware and the computationally intensivefunctions may be implemented in hardware.

FIG. 16 illustrates an example virtualization environment 300 in whichfunctions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized. In thepresent context, virtualizing means creating virtual versions ofapparatuses or devices which may include virtualizing hardwareplatforms, storage devices and networking resources. As used herein,virtualization can be applied to a node (e.g., a virtualized basestation or a virtualized radio access node) or to a device (e.g., a UE,a wireless device or any other type of communication device) orcomponents thereof and relates to an implementation in which at least aportion of the functionality is implemented as one or more virtualcomponents (e.g., via one or more applications, components, functions,virtual machines or containers executing on one or more physicalprocessing nodes in one or more networks).

In some embodiments, some or all of the functions described herein maybe implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtualmachines implemented in one or more virtual environments 300 hosted byone or more of hardware nodes 330. Further, in embodiments in which thevirtual node is not a radio access node or does not require radioconnectivity (e.g., a core network node), then the network node may beentirely virtualized.

The functions may be implemented by one or more applications 320 (whichmay alternatively be called software instances, virtual appliances,network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.)operative to implement some of the features, functions, and/or benefitsof some of the embodiments disclosed herein. Applications 320 are run invirtualization environment 300 which provides hardware 330 comprisingprocessing circuitry 360 and memory 390. Memory 390 containsinstructions 395 executable by processing circuitry 360 wherebyapplication 320 is operative to provide one or more of the features,benefits, and/or functions disclosed herein.

Virtualization environment 300, comprises general-purpose orspecial-purpose network hardware devices 330 comprising a set of one ormore processors or processing circuitry 360, which may be commercialoff-the-shelf (COTS) processors, dedicated Application SpecificIntegrated Circuits (ASICs), or any other type of processing circuitryincluding digital or analog hardware components or special purposeprocessors. Each hardware device may comprise memory 390-1 which may benon-persistent memory for temporarily storing instructions 395 orsoftware executed by processing circuitry 360. Each hardware device maycomprise one or more network interface controllers (NICs) 370, alsoknown as network interface cards, which include physical networkinterface 380. Each hardware device may also include non-transitory,persistent, machine-readable storage media 390-2 having stored thereinsoftware 395 and/or instructions executable by processing circuitry 360.Software 395 may include any type of software including software forinstantiating one or more virtualization layers 350 (also referred to ashypervisors), software to execute virtual machines 340 as well assoftware allowing it to execute functions, features and/or benefitsdescribed in relation with some embodiments described herein.

Virtual machines 340, comprise virtual processing, virtual memory,virtual networking or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by acorresponding virtualization layer 350 or hypervisor. Differentembodiments of the instance of virtual appliance 320 may be implementedon one or more of virtual machines 340, and the implementations may bemade in different ways.

During operation, processing circuitry 360 executes software 395 toinstantiate the hypervisor or virtualization layer 350, which maysometimes be referred to as a virtual machine monitor (VMM).Virtualization layer 350 may present a virtual operating platform thatappears like networking hardware to virtual machine 340.

As shown in FIG. 3 , hardware 330 may be a standalone network node withgeneric or specific components. Hardware 330 may comprise antenna 3225and may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively,hardware 330 may be part of a larger cluster of hardware (e.g. such asin a data center or customer premise equipment (CPE)) where manyhardware nodes work together and are managed via management andorchestration (MANO) 3100, which, among others, oversees lifecyclemanagement of applications 320.

Virtualization of the hardware is in some contexts referred to asnetwork function virtualization (NFV). NFV may be used to consolidatemany network equipment types onto industry standard high volume serverhardware, physical switches, and physical storage, which can be locatedin data centers, and customer premise equipment.

In the context of NFV, virtual machine 340 may be a softwareimplementation of a physical machine that runs programs as if they wereexecuting on a physical, non-virtualized machine. Each of virtualmachines 340, and that part of hardware 330 that executes that virtualmachine, be it hardware dedicated to that virtual machine and/orhardware shared by that virtual machine with others of the virtualmachines 340, forms a separate virtual network elements (VNE).

Still in the context of NFV, Virtual Network Function (VNF) isresponsible for handling specific network functions that run in one ormore virtual machines 340 on top of hardware networking infrastructure330 and corresponds to application 320 in FIG. 3 .

In some embodiments, one or more radio units 3200 that each include oneor more transmitters 3220 and one or more receivers 3210 may be coupledto one or more antennas 3225. Radio units 3200 may communicate directlywith hardware nodes 330 via one or more appropriate network interfacesand may be used in combination with the virtual components to provide avirtual node with radio capabilities, such as a radio access node or abase station.

In some embodiments, some signalling can be effected with the use ofcontrol system 3230 which may alternatively be used for communicationbetween the hardware nodes 330 and radio units 3200.

FIG. 17 illustrates a telecommunications network connected via anintermediate network to a host computer in accordance with someembodiments. With reference to FIG. 17 , in accordance with anembodiment, a communication system includes telecommunication network410, such as a 3GPP-type cellular network, which comprises accessnetwork 411, such as a radio access network, and core network 414.Access network 411 comprises a plurality of base stations 412 a, 412 b,412 c, such as NBs, eNBs, gNBs or other types of wireless access points,each defining a corresponding coverage area 413 a, 413 b, 413 c. Eachbase station 412 a, 412 b, 412 c is connectable to core network 414 overa wired or wireless connection 415. A first UE 491 located in coveragearea 413 c is configured to wirelessly connect to, or be paged by, thecorresponding base station 412 c. A second UE 492 in coverage area 413 ais wirelessly connectable to the corresponding base station 412 a. Whilea plurality of UEs 491, 492 are illustrated in this example, thedisclosed embodiments are equally applicable to a situation where a soleUE is in the coverage area or where a sole UE is connecting to thecorresponding base station 412.

Telecommunication network 410 is itself connected to host computer 430,which may be embodied in the hardware and/or software of a standaloneserver, a cloud-implemented server, a distributed server or asprocessing resources in a server farm. Host computer 430 may be underthe ownership or control of a service provider, or may be operated bythe service provider or on behalf of the service provider. Connections421 and 422 between telecommunication network 410 and host computer 430may extend directly from core network 414 to host computer 430 or may govia an optional intermediate network 420. Intermediate network 420 maybe one of, or a combination of more than one of, a public, private orhosted network; intermediate network 420, if any, may be a backbonenetwork or the Internet; in particular, intermediate network 420 maycomprise two or more sub-networks (not shown).

The communication system of FIG. 4 as a whole enables connectivitybetween the connected UEs 491, 492 and host computer 430. Theconnectivity may be described as an over-the-top (OTT) connection 450.Host computer 430 and the connected UEs 491, 492 are configured tocommunicate data and/or signaling via OTT connection 450, using accessnetwork 411, core network 414, any intermediate network 420 and possiblefurther infrastructure (not shown) as intermediaries. OTT connection 450may be transparent in the sense that the participating communicationdevices through which OTT connection 450 passes are unaware of routingof uplink and downlink communications. For example, base station 412 maynot or need not be informed about the past routing of an incomingdownlink communication with data originating from host computer 430 tobe forwarded (e.g., handed over) to a connected UE 491. Similarly, basestation 412 need not be aware of the future routing of an outgoinguplink communication originating from the UE 491 towards the hostcomputer 430.

FIG. 18 illustrates a host computer communicating via a base stationwith a user equipment over a partially wireless connection in accordancewith some embodiments. Example implementations, in accordance with anembodiment, of the UE, base station and host computer discussed in thepreceding paragraphs will now be described with reference to FIG. 18 .In communication system 500, host computer 510 comprises hardware 515including communication interface 516 configured to set up and maintaina wired or wireless connection with an interface of a differentcommunication device of communication system 500. Host computer 510further comprises processing circuitry 518, which may have storageand/or processing capabilities. In particular, processing circuitry 518may comprise one or more programmable processors, application-specificintegrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays or combinations ofthese (not shown) adapted to execute instructions. Host computer 510further comprises software 511, which is stored in or accessible by hostcomputer 510 and executable by processing circuitry 518. Software 511includes host application 512. Host application 512 may be operable toprovide a service to a remote user, such as UE 530 connecting via OTTconnection 550 terminating at UE 530 and host computer 510. In providingthe service to the remote user, host application 512 may provide userdata which is transmitted using OTT connection 550.

Communication system 500 further includes base station 520 provided in atelecommunication system and comprising hardware 525 enabling it tocommunicate with host computer 510 and with UE 530. Hardware 525 mayinclude communication interface 526 for setting up and maintaining awired or wireless connection with an interface of a differentcommunication device of communication system 500, as well as radiointerface 527 for setting up and maintaining at least wirelessconnection 570 with UE 530 located in a coverage area (not shown in FIG.18 ) served by base station 520. Communication interface 526 may beconfigured to facilitate connection 560 to host computer 510. Connection560 may be direct or it may pass through a core network (not shown inFIG. 18 ) of the telecommunication system and/or through one or moreintermediate networks outside the telecommunication system. In theembodiment shown, hardware 525 of base station 520 further includesprocessing circuitry 528, which may comprise one or more programmableprocessors, application-specific integrated circuits, field programmablegate arrays or combinations of these (not shown) adapted to executeinstructions. Base station 520 further has software 521 storedinternally or accessible via an external connection.

Communication system 500 further includes UE 530 already referred to.Its hardware 535 may include radio interface 537 configured to set upand maintain wireless connection 570 with a base station serving acoverage area in which UE 530 is currently located. Hardware 535 of UE530 further includes processing circuitry 538, which may comprise one ormore programmable processors, application-specific integrated circuits,field programmable gate arrays or combinations of these (not shown)adapted to execute instructions. UE 530 further comprises software 531,which is stored in or accessible by UE 530 and executable by processingcircuitry 538. Software 531 includes client application 532. Clientapplication 532 may be operable to provide a service to a human ornon-human user via UE 530, with the support of host computer 510. Inhost computer 510, an executing host application 512 may communicatewith the executing client application 532 via OTT connection 550terminating at UE 530 and host computer 510. In providing the service tothe user, client application 532 may receive request data from hostapplication 512 and provide user data in response to the request data.OTT connection 550 may transfer both the request data and the user data.Client application 532 may interact with the user to generate the userdata that it provides.

It is noted that host computer 510, base station 520 and UE 530illustrated in FIG. 18 may be similar or identical to host computer 430,one of base stations 412 a, 412 b, 412 c and one of UEs 491, 492 of FIG.4 , respectively. This is to say, the inner workings of these entitiesmay be as shown in FIG. 18 and independently, the surrounding networktopology may be that of FIG. 4 .

In FIG. 18 , OTT connection 550 has been drawn abstractly to illustratethe communication between host computer 510 and UE 530 via base station520, without explicit reference to any intermediary devices and theprecise routing of messages via these devices. Network infrastructuremay determine the routing, which it may be configured to hide from UE530 or from the service provider operating host computer 510, or both.While OTT connection 550 is active, the network infrastructure mayfurther take decisions by which it dynamically changes the routing(e.g., on the basis of load balancing consideration or reconfigurationof the network).

Wireless connection 570 between UE 530 and base station 520 is inaccordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughoutthis disclosure. One or more of the various embodiments improve theperformance of OTT services provided to UE 530 using OTT connection 550,in which wireless connection 570 forms the last segment. More precisely,the teachings of these embodiments may improve RRC signaling byminimizing or avoiding the RRC signaling due to intra-cell mobility.This may provide benefits such as an improved user experience and betterusage of wireless resources.

A measurement procedure may be provided for the purpose of monitoringdata rate, latency and other factors on which the one or moreembodiments improve. There may further be an optional networkfunctionality for reconfiguring OTT connection 550 between host computer510 and UE 530, in response to variations in the measurement results.The measurement procedure and/or the network functionality forreconfiguring OTT connection 550 may be implemented in software 511 andhardware 515 of host computer 510 or in software 531 and hardware 535 ofUE 530, or both. In embodiments, sensors (not shown) may be deployed inor in association with communication devices through which OTTconnection 550 passes; the sensors may participate in the measurementprocedure by supplying values of the monitored quantities exemplifiedabove, or supplying values of other physical quantities from whichsoftware 511, 531 may compute or estimate the monitored quantities. Thereconfiguring of OTT connection 550 may include message format,retransmission settings, preferred routing etc.; the reconfiguring neednot affect base station 520, and it may be unknown or imperceptible tobase station 520. Such procedures and functionalities may be known andpracticed in the art. In certain embodiments, measurements may involveproprietary UE signaling facilitating host computer 510′s measurementsof throughput, propagation times, latency and the like. The measurementsmay be implemented in that software 511 and 531 causes messages to betransmitted, in particular empty or ‘dummy’ messages, using OTTconnection 550 while it monitors propagation times, errors etc.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in acommunication system, in accordance with one embodiment. Thecommunication system includes a host computer, a base station and a UEwhich may be those described with reference to FIGS. 17 and 18 . Forsimplicity of the present disclosure, only drawing references to FIG. 19will be included in this section. In step 610, the host computerprovides user data. In substep 611 (which may be optional) of step 610,the host computer provides the user data by executing a hostapplication. In step 620, the host computer initiates a transmissioncarrying the user data to the UE. In step 630 (which may be optional),the base station transmits to the UE the user data which was carried inthe transmission that the host computer initiated, in accordance withthe teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure.In step 640 (which may also be optional), the UE executes a clientapplication associated with the host application executed by the hostcomputer.

FIG. 20 is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in acommunication system, in accordance with one embodiment. Thecommunication system includes a host computer, a base station and a UEwhich may be those described with reference to FIGS. 17 and 18 . Forsimplicity of the present disclosure, only drawing references to FIG. 20will be included in this section. In step 710 of the method, the hostcomputer provides user data. In an optional substep (not shown) the hostcomputer provides the user data by executing a host application. In step720, the host computer initiates a transmission carrying the user datato the UE. The transmission may pass via the base station, in accordancewith the teachings of the embodiments described throughout thisdisclosure. In step 730 (which may be optional), the UE receives theuser data carried in the transmission.

FIG. 21 is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in acommunication system, in accordance with one embodiment. Thecommunication system includes a host computer, a base station and a UEwhich may be those described with reference to FIGS. 17 and 18 . Forsimplicity of the present disclosure, only drawing references to FIG. 21will be included in this section. In step 810 (which may be optional),the UE receives input data provided by the host computer. Additionallyor alternatively, in step 820, the UE provides user data. In substep 821(which may be optional) of step 820, the UE provides the user data byexecuting a client application. In substep 811 (which may be optional)of step 810, the UE executes a client application which provides theuser data in reaction to the received input data provided by the hostcomputer. In providing the user data, the executed client applicationmay further consider user input received from the user. Regardless ofthe specific manner in which the user data was provided, the UEinitiates, in substep 830 (which may be optional), transmission of theuser data to the host computer. In step 840 of the method, the hostcomputer receives the user data transmitted from the UE, in accordancewith the teachings of the embodiments described throughout thisdisclosure.

FIG. 22 is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in acommunication system, in accordance with one embodiment. Thecommunication system includes a host computer, a base station and a UEwhich may be those described with reference to FIGS. 17 and 18 . Forsimplicity of the present disclosure, only drawing references to FIG. 22will be included in this section. In step 910 (which may be optional),in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughoutthis disclosure, the base station receives user data from the UE. Instep 920 (which may be optional), the base station initiatestransmission of the received user data to the host computer. In step 930(which may be optional), the host computer receives the user datacarried in the transmission initiated by the base station.

Any appropriate steps, methods, features, functions, or benefitsdisclosed herein may be performed through one or more functional unitsor modules of one or more virtual apparatuses. Each virtual apparatusmay comprise a number of these functional units. These functional unitsmay be implemented via processing circuitry, which may include one ormore microprocessor or microcontrollers, as well as other digitalhardware, which may include digital signal processors (DSPs),special-purpose digital logic, and the like. The processing circuitrymay be configured to execute program code stored in memory, which mayinclude one or several types of memory such as read-only memory (ROM),random-access memory (RAM), cache memory, flash memory devices, opticalstorage devices, etc. Program code stored in memory includes programinstructions for executing one or more telecommunications and/or datacommunications protocols as well as instructions for carrying out one ormore of the techniques described herein. In some implementations, theprocessing circuitry may be used to cause the respective functional unitto perform corresponding functions according one or more embodiments ofthe present disclosure.

The term unit may have conventional meaning in the field of electronics,electrical devices and/or electronic devices and may include, forexample, electrical and/or electronic circuitry, devices, modules,processors, memories, logic solid state and/or discrete devices,computer programs or instructions for carrying out respective tasks,procedures, computations, outputs, and/or displaying functions, and soon, as such as those that are described herein.

FIG. 23 illustrates an exemplary method 1000 by a wireless device 110for optimized reconfiguration of RLM and beam monitoring, in accordancewith certain embodiments. The method begins at step 1010 when thewireless device 110 receives, from a first network node 160, a firstmessage comprising at least one RLM parameter. At step 1020, thewireless device 110 receives, from the first network node 160, a secondmessage indicating activation of at least one RLM parameter associatedwith the first message. The second message is a lower layer signalcompared to the first message.

According to a particular embodiment, the first message is received as aradio resource control, RRC, signal and the second message is receivedas a medium access control, MAC, control element.

According to a particular embodiment, the at least one RLM parameterincludes a first RLM parameter and a second RLM parameter. The first RLMparameter is associated with a first set of reference signal resources,and the second RLM parameter is associated with a second set ofreference signal resources. The second set of reference signal resourcesis different from the first set of reference signal resources.

According to a particular embodiment, each of the first set of referencesignal resources and the second set of reference signal resources areless than a number of reference signal resources providing coverage of acell.

According to a particular embodiment, the method further includes thewireless device 110 performing RLM of at least one reference signalresource based on the second message, and the at least one referencesignal resource comprises at least one synchronization signal block,SSB, or at least one channel state information-reference signal, CSI-RS.

In a particular embodiment, in response to receiving the second message,the wireless device 110 deactivates at least one reference signalresource in the first set of reference signal resources.

In a particular embodiment, in response to receiving the second message,the wireless device 110 activates at least one reference signal resourcethat in not in the first set of reference signal resources.

In a particular embodiment, the first message identifies a referencesignal type, and the second message identifies one or more referencesignal resources of the reference signal type.

In certain embodiments, the method for optimized reconfiguration of RLMand beam monitoring as described above may be performed by a virtualcomputing device. FIG. 24 illustrates an example virtual computingdevice 1100 for optimized reconfiguration of RLM and beam monitoring,according to certain embodiments. In certain embodiments, virtualcomputing device 1100 may include modules for performing steps similarto those described above with regard to the method illustrated anddescribed in FIG. 23 . For example, virtual computing device 1100 mayinclude a first receiving module 1110, a second receiving module 1120,and any other suitable modules for optimized reconfiguration of RLM andbeam monitoring. In some embodiments, one or more of the modules may beimplemented using one or more processors 170 of FIG. 13 . In certainembodiments, the functions of two or more of the various modules may becombined into a single module.

The first receiving module 1110 may perform certain of the receivingfunctions of virtual computing device 1100. For example, in a particularembodiment, first receiving module 1110 may receive, from a firstnetwork node 160, a first message comprising at least one RLM parameter.

The second receiving module 1120 may perform certain other of thereceiving functions of virtual computing device 1100. For example, in aparticular embodiment, second receiving module 1110 may receive, fromthe first network node 160, a second message indicating activation of atleast one RLM parameter associated with the first message. The secondmessage is a lower layer signal compared to the first message.

Other embodiments of virtual computing device 1100 may includeadditional components beyond those shown in FIG. 24 that may beresponsible for providing certain aspects of the wireless device’sfunctionality, including any of the functionality described above and/orany additional functionality (including any functionality necessary tosupport the solutions described above). The various different types ofwireless devices 110 may include components having the same physicalhardware but configured (e.g., via programming) to support differentradio access technologies, or may represent partly or entirely differentphysical components.

FIG. 25 illustrates an exemplary method 1200 by a network node 160 foroptimized reconfiguration of RLM and beam monitoring, in accordance withcertain embodiments. The method begins at step 1210 when the networknode 160 sends, to a wireless device 110, a first message comprising atleast one RLM parameter. At step 1220, the network node 160 sends, tothe wireless device 110, a second message indicating activation of atleast one RLM parameter associated with the first message. The secondmessage is a lower layer signal compared to the first message.

According to a particular embodiment, the first message is sent as aradio resource control, RRC, signal and the second message is sent as amedium access control, MAC, control element.

According to a particular embodiment, the at least one RLM parameter isassociated with at least one synchronization signal block, SSB, or atleast one channel state information-reference signal, CSI-RS.

According to a particular embodiment, the second message is sent to thewireless device in response to determining that the wireless device hasmoved within a cell.

According to a particular embodiment, the first message identifies areference signal type, and the second message identifies one or morereference signal resources of the reference signal type.

According to a particular embodiment, the at least one RLM parametercomprises a first RLM parameter and a second RLM parameter. The firstRLM parameter is associated with a first set of reference signalresources, and the second RLM parameter is associated with a second setof reference signal resources. The second set of reference signalresources is different from the first set of reference signal resources.

According to a particular embodiment, each of the first set of referencesignal resources and the second set of reference signal resources areless than a number of reference signal resources providing coverage of acell.

In certain embodiments, the method for optimized reconfiguration of RLMand beam monitoring as described above may be performed by a virtualcomputing device. FIG. 26 illustrates an example virtual computingdevice 1300 for optimized reconfiguration of RLM and beam monitoring,according to certain embodiments. In certain embodiments, virtualcomputing device 1300 may include modules for performing steps similarto those described above with regard to the method illustrated anddescribed in FIG. 25 . For example, virtual computing device 1100 mayinclude a first sending module 1310, a second sending module 1320, andany other suitable modules for optimized reconfiguration of RLM and beammonitoring. In some embodiments, one or more of the modules may beimplemented using one or more processors 120 of FIG. 14 . In certainembodiments, the functions of two or more of the various modules may becombined into a single module.

The first sending module 1310 may perform certain of the sendingfunctions of virtual computing device 1300. For example, in a particularembodiment, first sending module 1310 may send, to a wireless device110, a first message comprising at least one RLM parameter.

The second sending module 1320 may perform certain other of the sendingfunctions of virtual computing device 1300. For example, in a particularembodiment, second sending module 1310 may send, to the wireless device110, a second message indicating activation of at least one RLMparameter associated with the first message. The second message is alower layer signal compared to the first message.

Other embodiments of virtual computing device 1300 may includeadditional components beyond those shown in FIG. 26 that may beresponsible for providing certain aspects of the network node’sfunctionality, including any of the functionality described above and/orany additional functionality (including any functionality necessary tosupport the solutions described above). The various different types ofnetwork nodes 160 may include components having the same physicalhardware but configured (e.g., via programming) to support differentradio access technologies, or may represent partly or entirely differentphysical components.

Some additional example embodiments are now described:

Group A Embodiments

Embodiment 1. A method performed by a wireless device for optimizedreconfiguration of RLM and beam monitoring, the method comprising:

-   Receiving a first configuration message comprising RLM parameters;-   Receiving a second configuration message comprising updated RLM    parameters, wherein the second configuration message is a lower    layer signal compared to the first configuration message.

Embodiment 2. The method of 1 further comprising any combination of anyof the steps, procedures or benefits described above.

Embodiment 3. The method of any of the previous embodiments, furthercomprising:

-   providing user data; and-   forwarding the user data to a host computer via the transmission to    the base station.

Group B Embodiments

Embodiment 4. A method performed by a base station for optimizedreconfiguration of RLM and beam monitoring, the method comprising:

-   Sending a first configuration message comprising RLM parameters;-   Detecting a need to update RLM parameters; and-   Sending a second configuration message comprising updated RLM    parameters, wherein the second configuration message is a lower    layer signal compared to the first configuration message.

Embodiment 5. The method of 4 further comprising any combination of anyof the steps, procedures or benefits described above.

Embodiment 6. The method of any of the previous embodiments, furthercomprising:

-   obtaining user data; and-   forwarding the user data to a host computer or a wireless device.

Group C Embodiments

Embodiment 7. A wireless device for optimized reconfiguration of RLM andbeam monitoring, the wireless device comprising:

-   processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any    of the Group A embodiments; and-   power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the wireless    device.

Embodiment 8. A base station for optimized reconfiguration of RLM andbeam monitoring, the base station comprising:

-   processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any    of the Group B embodiments;-   power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the wireless    device.

Embodiment 9. A user equipment (UE) for optimized reconfiguration of RLMand beam monitoring, the UE comprising:

-   an antenna configured to send and receive wireless signals;-   radio front-end circuitry connected to the antenna and to processing    circuitry, and configured to condition signals communicated between    the antenna and the processing circuitry;-   the processing circuitry being configured to perform any of the    steps of any of the Group A embodiments;-   an input interface connected to the processing circuitry and    configured to allow input of information into the UE to be processed    by the processing circuitry;-   an output interface connected to the processing circuitry and    configured to output information from the UE that has been processed    by the processing circuitry; and-   a battery connected to the processing circuitry and configured to    supply power to the UE.

Embodiment 10. A communication system including a host computercomprising:

-   processing circuitry configured to provide user data; and-   a communication interface configured to forward the user data to a    cellular network for transmission to a user equipment (UE),-   wherein the cellular network comprises a base station having a radio    interface and processing circuitry, the base station’s processing    circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group    B embodiments.

Embodiment 11. The communication system of the previous embodimentfurther including the base station.

Embodiment 12. The communication system of the previous 2 embodiments,further including the UE, wherein the UE is configured to communicatewith the base station.

Embodiment 13. The communication system of the previous 3 embodiments,wherein:

-   the processing circuitry of the host computer is configured to    execute a host application, thereby providing the user data; and-   the UE comprises processing circuitry configured to execute a client    application associated with the host application.

Embodiment 14. A method implemented in a communication system includinga host computer, a base station and a user equipment (UE), the methodcomprising:

-   at the host computer, providing user data; and-   at the host computer, initiating a transmission carrying the user    data to the UE via a cellular network comprising the base station,    wherein the base station performs any of the steps of any of the    Group B embodiments.

Embodiment 15. The method of the previous embodiment, furthercomprising, at the base station, transmitting the user data.

Embodiment 16. The method of the previous 2 embodiments, wherein theuser data is provided at the host computer by executing a hostapplication, the method further comprising, at the UE, executing aclient application associated with the host application.

Embodiment 17. A user equipment (UE) configured to communicate with abase station, the UE comprising a radio interface and processingcircuitry configured to performs the of the previous 3 embodiments.

Embodiment 18. A communication system including a host computercomprising:

-   processing circuitry configured to provide user data; and-   a communication interface configured to forward user data to a    cellular network for transmission to a user equipment (UE),-   wherein the UE comprises a radio interface and processing circuitry,    the UE’s components configured to perform any of the steps of any of    the Group A embodiments.

Embodiment 19. The communication system of the previous embodiment,wherein the cellular network further includes a base station configuredto communicate with the UE.

Embodiment 20. The communication system of the previous 2 embodiments,wherein:

-   the processing circuitry of the host computer is configured to    execute a host application, thereby providing the user data; and-   the UE’s processing circuitry is configured to execute a client    application associated with the host application.

Embodiment 21. A method implemented in a communication system includinga host computer, a base station and a user equipment (UE), the methodcomprising:

-   at the host computer, providing user data; and-   at the host computer, initiating a transmission carrying the user    data to the UE via a cellular network comprising the base station,    wherein the UE performs any of the steps of any of the Group A    embodiments.

Embodiment 22. The method of the previous embodiment, further comprisingat the UE, receiving the user data from the base station.

Embodiment 23. A communication system including a host computercomprising:

-   communication interface configured to receive user data originating    from a transmission from a user equipment (UE) to a base station,-   wherein the UE comprises a radio interface and processing circuitry,    the UE’s processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps    of any of the Group A embodiments.

Embodiment 24. The communication system of the previous embodiment,further including the UE.

Embodiment 25. The communication system of the previous 2 embodiments,further including the base station, wherein the base station comprises aradio interface configured to communicate with the UE and acommunication interface configured to forward to the host computer theuser data carried by a transmission from the UE to the base station.

Embodiment 26. The communication system of the previous 3 embodiments,wherein:

-   the processing circuitry of the host computer is configured to    execute a host application; and-   the UE’s processing circuitry is configured to execute a client    application associated with the host application, thereby providing    the user data.

Embodiment 27. The communication system of the previous 4 embodiments,wherein:

-   the processing circuitry of the host computer is configured to    execute a host application, thereby providing request data; and-   the UE’s processing circuitry is configured to execute a client    application associated with the host application, thereby providing    the user data in response to the request data.

Embodiment 28. A method implemented in a communication system includinga host computer, a base station and a user equipment (UE), the methodcomprising:

-   at the host computer, receiving user data transmitted to the base    station from the UE, wherein the UE performs any of the steps of any    of the Group A embodiments.

Embodiment 29. The method of the previous embodiment, furthercomprising, at the UE, providing the user data to the base station.

Embodiment 30. The method of the previous 2 embodiments, furthercomprising:

-   at the UE, executing a client application, thereby providing the    user data to be transmitted; and-   at the host computer, executing a host application associated with    the client application.

Embodiment 31. The method of the previous 3 embodiments, furthercomprising:

-   at the UE, executing a client application; and-   at the UE, receiving input data to the client application, the input    data being provided at the host computer by executing a host    application associated with the client application,-   wherein the user data to be transmitted is provided by the client    application in response to the input data.

Embodiment 32. A communication system including a host computercomprising a communication interface configured to receive user dataoriginating from a transmission from a user equipment (UE) to a basestation, wherein the base station comprises a radio interface andprocessing circuitry, the base station’s processing circuitry configuredto perform any of the steps of any of the Group B embodiments.

Embodiment 33. The communication system of the previous embodimentfurther including the base station.

Embodiment 34. The communication system of the previous 2 embodiments,further including the UE, wherein the UE is configured to communicatewith the base station.

Embodiment 35. The communication system of the previous 3 embodiments,wherein:

-   the processing circuitry of the host computer is configured to    execute a host application;-   the UE is configured to execute a client application associated with    the host application, thereby providing the user data to be received    by the host computer.

Embodiment 36. A method implemented in a communication system includinga host computer, a base station and a user equipment (UE), the methodcomprising:

-   at the host computer, receiving, from the base station, user data    originating from a transmission which the base station has received    from the UE, wherein the UE performs any of the steps of any of the    Group A embodiments.

Embodiment 37. The method of the previous embodiment, further comprisingat the base station, receiving the user data from the UE.

Embodiment 38. The method of the previous 2 embodiments, furthercomprising at the base station, initiating a transmission of thereceived user data to the host computer.

ABBREVIATIONS

At least some of the following abbreviations may be used in thisdisclosure. If there is an inconsistency between abbreviations,preference should be given to how it is used above. If listed multipletimes below, the first listing should be preferred over any subsequentlisting(s).

1x RTT CDMA2000 1x Radio Transmission Technology 3GPP 3rd GenerationPartnership Project 5G 5th Generation ABS Almost Blank Subframe ARQAutomatic Repeat Request AWGN Additive White Gaussian Noise BCCHBroadcast Control Channel BCH Broadcast Channel CA Carrier AggregationCC Carrier Component CCCH SDU Common Control Channel SDU CDMA CodeDivision Multiplexing Access CGI Cell Global Identifier CIR ChannelImpulse Response CP Cyclic Prefix CPICH Common Pilot Channel CPICH Ec/NoCPICH Received energy per chip divided by the power density in the bandCQI Channel Quality information C-RNTI Cell RNTI CSI Channel StateInformation DCCH Dedicated Control Channel DL Downlink DM DemodulationDMRS Demodulation Reference Signal DRX Discontinuous Reception DTXDiscontinuous Transmission DTCH Dedicated Traffic Channel DUT DeviceUnder Test E-CID Enhanced Cell-ID (positioning method) E-SMLCEvolved-Serving Mobile Location Centre ECGI Evolved CGI eNB E-UTRANNodeB ePDCCH enhanced Physical Downlink Control Channel E-SMLC evolvedServing Mobile Location Center E-UTRA Evolved UTRA E-UTRAN Evolved UTRANFDD Frequency Division Duplex FFS For Further Study GERAN GSM EDGE RadioAccess Network gNB Base station in NR GNSS Global Navigation SatelliteSystem GSM Global System for Mobile communication HARQ Hybrid AutomaticRepeat Request HO Handover HSPA High Speed Packet Access HRPD High RatePacket Data LOS Line of Sight LPP LTE Positioning Protocol LTE Long-TermEvolution MAC Medium Access Control MBMS Multimedia Broadcast MulticastServices MBSFN Multimedia Broadcast multicast service Single FrequencyNetwork MBSFN ABS MBSFN Almost Blank Subframe MDT Minimization of DriveTests MIB Master Information Block MME Mobility Management Entity MSCMobile Switching Center NPDCCH Narrowband Physical Downlink ControlChannel NR New Radio OCNG OFDMA Channel Noise Generator OFDM OrthogonalFrequency Division Multiplexing OFDMA Orthogonal Frequency DivisionMultiple Access OSS Operations Support System OTDOA Observed TimeDifference of Arrival O&M Operation and Maintenance PBCH PhysicalBroadcast Channel P-CCPCH Primary Common Control Physical Channel PCellPrimary Cell PCFICH Physical Control Format Indicator Channel PDCCHPhysical Downlink Control Channel PDP Profile Delay Profile PDSCHPhysical Downlink Shared Channel PGW Packet Gateway PHICH PhysicalHybrid-ARQ Indicator Channel PLMN Public Land Mobile Network PMIPrecoder Matrix Indicator PRACH Physical Random Access Channel PRSPositioning Reference Signal PSS Primary Synchronization Signal PUCCHPhysical Uplink Control Channel PUSCH Physical Uplink Shared ChannelRACH Random Access Channel QAM Quadrature Amplitude Modulation RAN RadioAccess Network RAT Radio Access Technology RLM Radio Link Management RNCRadio Network Controller RNTI Radio Network Temporary Identifier RRCRadio Resource Control RRM Radio Resource Management RS Reference SignalRSCP Received Signal Code Power RSRP Reference Symbol Received Power ORReference Signal Received Power RSRQ Reference Signal Received QualityOR Reference Symbol Received Quality RSSI Received Signal StrengthIndicator RSTD Reference Signal Time Difference SCH SynchronizationChannel SCell Secondary Cell SDU Service Data Unit SFN System FrameNumber SGW Serving Gateway SI System Information SIB System InformationBlock SNR Signal to Noise Ratio SON Self Optimized Network SSSynchronization Signal SSS Secondary Synchronization Signal TDD TimeDivision Duplex TDOA Time Difference of Arrival TOA Time of Arrival TSSTertiary Synchronization Signal TTI Transmission Time Interval UE UserEquipment UL Uplink UMTS Universal Mobile Telecommunication System USIMUniversal Subscriber Identity Module UTDOA Uplink Time Difference ofArrival UTRA Universal Terrestrial Radio Access UTRAN UniversalTerrestrial Radio Access Network WCDMA Wide CDMA WLAN Wide Local AreaNetwork

1. A method performed by a wireless device for optimized reconfigurationof radio link monitoring (RLM) and beam monitoring, the methodcomprising: receiving at the wireless device, from a first network node,a first message comprising a plurality of RLM parameters associated witha plurality of reference signals; receiving, from the first networknode, a second message indicating activation of a previously inactiveRLM parameter, with respect to the wireless device, the activated RLMparameter being one of the plurality of RLM parameters associated withthe first message, wherein the activated at least one RLM parameter isassociated with at least a first reference signal; and monitoring one ormore reference signals associated with the at least one RLM parameter.2. The method of claim 1, wherein: the plurality of RLM parameterscomprises a first RLM parameter and a second RLM parameter, the firstRLM parameter being associated with a first set of reference signalresources, the second RLM parameter being associated with a second setof reference signal resources, and the second set of reference signalresources is different from the first set of reference signal resources.3. The method of claim 2, wherein each of the first set of referencesignal resources and the second set of reference signal resources areless than a number of reference signal resources providing coverage of acell.
 4. The method of claim 2, further comprising, in response toreceiving the second message, deactivating at least one reference signalresource in the first set of reference signal resources.
 5. The methodof claim 2, further comprising, in response to receiving the secondmessage, activating at least one reference signal resource that is notin the first set of reference signal resources.
 6. A wireless device foroptimized reconfiguration of radio link monitoring, RLM, and beammonitoring, the wireless device comprising: a wireless interfaceconfigured to: receive at the wireless device, from a first networknode, a first message comprising a plurality of RLM parametersassociated with a plurality of reference signals; and receive, from thefirst network node, a second message indicating activation of apreviously inactive RLM parameter, with respect to the wireless device,the activated RLM parameter being one of the plurality of RLM parametersassociated with the first message, wherein the activated at least oneRLM parameter is associated with at least a first reference signal; andprocessing circuitry coupled to the wireless interface and configured tomonitor one or more reference signals associated with the at least oneRLM parameter.
 7. The wireless device of claim 6, wherein: the pluralityof RLM parameters comprises a first RLM parameter and a second RLMparameter, the first RLM parameter being associated with a first set ofreference signal resources, the second RLM parameter being associatedwith a second set of reference signal resources, and the second set ofreference signal resources is different from the first set of referencesignal resources.
 8. The wireless device of claim 7, wherein each of thefirst set of reference signal resources and the second set of referencesignal resources are less than a number of reference signal resourcesproviding coverage of a cell.
 9. The wireless device of claim 7, whereinthe processing circuitry is further operable to, in response toreceiving the second message, deactivate at least one reference signalresource in the first set of reference signal resources.
 10. Thewireless device of claim 7, wherein the processing circuitry is furtheroperable to in response to receiving the second message, activate atleast one reference signal resource that is not in the first set ofreference signal resources.
 11. A method performed by a network node foroptimized reconfiguration of radio link monitoring, RLM, and beammonitoring, the method comprising: sending, to a wireless device, afirst message comprising a plurality of RLM parameters associated with aplurality of reference signals to be used by the wireless device formonitoring one or more reference signals; sending, to the wirelessdevice, a second message indicating activation of a previously inactiveRLM parameter, with respect to the wireless device, the activated RLMparameter being one of the plurality of RLM parameters associated withthe first message, wherein the activated at least one RLM parameter isassociated with at least a first reference signal; and transmitting oneor more reference signals associated with the at least one RLMparameter.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the second message issent to the wireless device in response to determining that the wirelessdevice has moved within a cell.
 13. The method of claim 17, wherein: theplurality of RLM parameters comprises a first RLM parameter and a secondRLM parameter, the first RLM parameter being associated with a first setof reference signal resources, the second RLM parameter being associatedwith a second set of reference signal resources, and the second set ofreference signal resources is different from the first set of referencesignal resources.
 14. The method of claim 13, wherein each of the firstset of reference signal resources and the second set of reference signalresources are less than a number of reference signal resources providingcoverage of a cell.
 15. A network node for optimized reconfiguration ofradio link monitoring, RLM, and beam monitoring, the network nodecomprising: processing circuitry; and a wireless interface coupled tothe processing circuitry and configured to: send, to a wireless device,a first message comprising a plurality of RLM parameters associated witha plurality of reference signals to be used by the wireless device formonitoring one or more reference signals; send, to the wireless device,a second message indicating activation of a previously inactive RLMparameter, with respect to the wireless device, the activated RLMparameter being one of the plurality of RLM parameters associated withthe first message, wherein the activated at least one RLM parameter isassociated with at least a first reference signal; and transmit one ormore reference signals associated with the at least one RLM parameter.16. The network node of claim 15, wherein the processing circuitry isconfigured to determine that the wireless device has moved within a celland wherein the second message is sent to the wireless device inresponse to the processing circuitry determining that the wirelessdevice has moved within the cell.
 17. The network node of claim 15,wherein: the plurality of RLM parameters comprises a first RLM parameterand a second RLM parameter, the first RLM parameter being associatedwith a first set of reference signal resources, the second RLM parameterbeing associated with a second set of reference signal resources, andthe second set of reference signal resources is different from the firstset of reference signal resources.
 18. The network node of claim 17,wherein each of the first set of reference signal resources and thesecond set of reference signal resources are less than a number ofreference signal resources providing coverage of a cell.